


Rolling Thunder!! (A.K.A Dancing in the Meadow of Fire and Death)

by Redwizardfox



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Agony, Anger, Angst, Blood Loss, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Broken Bones, Bus, Death, Gen, Hope, Horror, Hospital, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other, Pain, Police, Psychological Horror, Sad, Sadness, Suffering, Suspense, Waiting Room, ambulance, broken arm, broken leg, cry, faith - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-07-10 10:47:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 136,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6981223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redwizardfox/pseuds/Redwizardfox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team travels back after their long awaited defeat of Aoba Johsai but things take a turn for the worse as the slick rain causes a disaster to happen on the mountain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have this story as Mature because of the amount of death, blood, and violence. I hope you all enjoy this fun psychological torture porn fanfic!! I will try my hardest to update every week. Right now I have a few chapters done, still working on the ending. There is NO actual pairings. I wrote this story in such a way that if you want to pair someone together you can, if not then you don't have to. It is pretty vague, yet slightly hinted at. Also, this story will be updated on my fanfiction .net account "Redwizardfox". Also I highly sugest that if you like to listen to classical music while reading and you reallllllly want to get into the mood of the story I would go to youtube and type in "2-Hours Epic Music Mix - Most Beautiful & Emotional Music - Emotional Mix Vol. 1" or "2-Hours_Epic_Music_Mix__THE_POWER_OF_EPIC_MUSIC_-_Full_Mix_Vol._2". You will thank me. These playlist of songs really helped me out in creating a sad yet epic atmosphere.

Chapter 1

The match finally came to a close as Karasuno was declared the winners over their rivals of Aoba Josei. The team sluggishly made their way to their bus preparing for the long ride home, completely exhausted from their long and tiring day. Every student that boarded just about collapsed in their seats, enjoying the first bit of rest they’ve had in quite some time. Ukai looked on as everyone boarded and, once all were in their seats, nodded to Takeda to begin the long ride home. Kageyama sat resting his head against the cold window of the bus as a silent yawn escaped his mouth. Tiredly he looked around and noticed that everyone else looked about as worn out as he. Instead of the hooping and hollering one would normally hear over the grand feat they just accomplished, the bus was peacefully quiet. The only sounds being the humming of the engine and the occasional light snores of the majority of the other passengers who were already out cold. The two older men were up front talking, Ukai leaning over his seat into the front of the bus, seemingly forgetting all safety rules as he stood in the middle of the aisle chatting to Takeda. And Takeda, sitting in the drivers seat causally chatting with Ukai while keeping his eyes focused on the road.

The match was long and exhausting, but it was all worth it to see the look on Oikawa’s face as the last ball hit the ground and Karasuno was declared the winner. Just the thought of that made Kageyama smile with satisfaction as he glanced over at Hinata, whose final spike decided the game, curled up into a ball next to him and slightly drooling. We finally won, he thought as a long yawn grew and diminished into a slight smirk and turned his head away from the first year next to him and back towards the window, dark clouds covering the twilight sky, rain clouds seeming to approach. Hinata had passed out in his seat even before the bus left and instead of yelling at or waking Hinata up so that he may have the seat to himself, Kageyama simply let him rest, he was too tired to care at the moment. He hated to admit it but deep down, he believed that Hinata wasn't a dumbass today, that final spike was impressive, so much so that even he would admit it. Kageyama laid his head against the cold window of the bus watching the dark silhouettes of trees go by and after a few seconds, his eyelids began to droop closed as he drifted gradually to sleep.

In the back seat of the bus, a few rows behind the now unconscious Kageyama, Noya sat slouched in his seat with his knees up against the seat in front of him as he lackadaisically pressed the buttons of Tanaka’s new PSP. Despite normally being able to fall asleep on the bus to and from matches, he just could not manage to calm the adrenaline surging through his body ever since the match. At least that is what he told himself; the real reason was probably his seat-mate Tanaka, whose snores were abnormally loud this night. Because Tanaka took the part of the seat adjacent to the aisle, Noya, being trapped between him and the window and not having the energy to move, resolved to simply borrow his PSP and tap away until the rumbling noise subsided to a level he could endure. At times like these he was jealous of Tsukishima who always seemed to have a set of headphones with him to cancel out noise and listen to music. There were not many times in his life that Noya was ever jealous of someone, especially Tsukishima, but today was one of those days. He always wondered what kind of music the tall fist year listened to? Was it soothing classical music? Or maybe it was hard core metal? Tsukishima was always a hard one to read, so was Yamaguchi for that matter, but not nearly as complicated as the first year middle blocker. Tuskishima sat one seat ahead of Nishinoya with his head resting on the icy window, while Yamaguchi sat in the seat next to the isle, head resting on Tukishima's shoulder, though the tall blonde didn't seem to mind. He looked and acted like a dick or better yet a bully most times, but who knows, maybe deep down he was a real softy for Mozart or something? After a few seconds thinking about musical tastes, Noya threw that thought aside and reverted his eyes back to the hand held game council and spent the next few minutes trying to figure out how to turn the brightness down. After finding it he booted up some Final Fantasy game that was in the device and played it, despite knowing next-to-nothing about it.

Up front, Daichi shifted from side to side in a restless sleep. Though he kept telling the team that his mouth was fine, the truth was that the medicine they gave him seemed to be wearing out and the throbbing in his gums was causing the captain to wake multiple times throughout the ride. At one particular point during the bus ride, he woke up to a slight stinging pain emanating from his jaw, he had drank all his water beforehand and had nothing to do but wait it out as he just sat quietly with his hand over his mouth as his eyes tried to fight back the tears. Suga, seemingly feeling Daichi rustle in the seat next to him, calmly woke up, noticed his friend in pain, and reached down into his bag to offer his water bottle to Daichi. He thanked Suga with a nod and took a large drink from the bottle, sloshing it around his mouth as the physician instructed him previously. Suga smiled tiredly as he eventually slumped over and rested his head against Daichi’s shoulder and fell back to sleep.

Ukai stood, lounging over into the front area of the bus, arms resting on the back of Takeda’s seat as he and the teacher chatted away. Eventually their conversation dimmed down to a mere mutter as Ukai took the opportunity to look behind him. “Looks like everyone’s out cold” he said as he glanced at the crew then back up front and continued, “I don’t blame them, they fought hard today. Hell, even I’m tired and I didn’t even play, all I did was observe and cheer them on.” He paused for a moment to smile and very softly, almost as if to himself, said “I am very proud of them. All their training finally paid off.” Takeda heard this and glanced in the rearview mirror and smirked, but quickly reverted his eyes back to the road before mutterings a soft, "Yeah, looks like it did" as a few rain drops hit the windshield and he turned the wipers on. 

“I can’t believe we finally beat Aobajosai, it seems like forever ago since the last time we played them." Takeda said, pausing as he slowed down to take a left turn onto another country road, making the bus incline slowly as it made its way up a mountainside path. "I still remember the last time we played them and, I will admit, we have come a long way.”

“It’s all thanks to you, really” Ukai blurted out, causing the teacher to blush in response. “W-what do you mean?” Takeda questioned, as Ukai ran a hand threw his own hair.

“If it weren’t for your persistence at getting stronger schools like Nekoma and Fukurodani to play us, we would have never gotten this far,” the coach declared, thinking back to all the hard work that Takeda must have put into this team. “I also wouldn’t be here without your persistence. So yeah... thanks for that too.” Ukai said with a sincere grin forming on his face. “I think I’ll treat them all to something real nice tomorrow for dinner...” he paused as if thinking about something then changed his mind, “No, better yet, maybe breakfast would be better. Now that we won, tomorrow’s going to be a hectic day… facing Shiratorizawa next isn’t going to be easy, but I have faith in our team and having a team breakfast is a great way to boost spirits.” The coach stated, as he shifted his feet side by side as one of his legs started falling asleep on him. He observed the landscape go by, the rice fields slowly turning into a grouping of trees now changing the landscape from flatlands to an incline of mountainside, as the dark clouds that loomed over them finally spilled and rain started to hit the roof of the bus. “By the looks of it we still won’t be home for a while so I think I’m going to catch some Z’s.” Ukai finished as Takeda nodded and he took a step back towards his empty bus seat and turned to rest his head against the window. He stretched his arms up as far as his body could go and yawned, eyes tracing the drops of rains running down the window as his they started drooping closed. Soon he was just as silent as all the others on the bus as he joined them in slumber.

Takeda sat in the driver’s seat with both of his hands gently cradling the bottom part of the wheel, listening to the soft patter of rain bouncing off the windshield in front of him and the soft hum of the engine swell and shrink with the changing speeds of the vehicle. Occasionally, another car would approach; a droning crescendo until a climax was met and the two meet side-by-side, after which the opposing engine would immediately descend into silence. However, this was a rare occurrence, not many people used this road since the highway was faster, but something about main highway roads didn’t fit well with the teacher. He was always more of a backroads and scenic type anyway.

The wiper blades of the bus smoothly glided from corner to corner in a rhythmic fashion as if they themselves were conducting this nocturnal symphony before Takeda’s eyes. He always loved driving at night to listen to the music of the road. The rain made it even more enjoyable as the light emanating from the front of the bus combined with the rain splattering and dancing down the windshield before tragically getting swooped to the side by the wiper. He smiled as he crested a hill and looked over the countryside before him, observing the profile of trees softly highlighted by the aforementioned light. Lights from houses far off in the distance seemingly merged together to create a light golden lining under the dark sky. He never complained about driving everyone to and from matches for this very reason: pure serenity.

Abruptly, what was once a light rain turned into a formidable shower, then an outright downpour. The wipers whipped almost chaotically back and forth across the windshield, engaged in a losing battle against the onslaught of rainfall that challenged them. Takeda, worry growing in the pit of his stomach, slowed their pace slightly, the roads getting slick underneath the heavy bus. He was used to driving on these types of roads, in these conditions; he knew how to compensate for slippery tires. Normally though he drove his car so he had to remember that buses were much different in how you drive them. The only unknown variable was the back-heavy load, but with a slower, more even pace he was confident they would at least make it to the next rest stop to wait out the rest of the storm.

A flash of high beams and a blaring horn, the latter obscured previously by the ever-loudening storm, tore from Takeda any confidence that he might have had, wrenching it from him as it presented itself to be a semi-truck, veering into his lane. Quickly, to avoid a head on collision, Takeda slammed on the brakes and turned to the left, away from the center of the road and towards the guard rail. He pushed the wheel back to the right, the tires squealing as he tried to gain any semblance of control. Takeda almost regained composure, but with the back end of the bus veering into the right, it was a prime target for the speeding semi.

Ukai, along with the rest of the team, jolted awake from their dazed naps as the blaring horn of the other vehicle rang through the night. Sluggishly the team tried to comprehend what was going on as the other vehicle collided and made contact with the side of the bus. Ukai tried to get ahold of the situation that was going down as he yelled for Takeda, gripping the side of his seat. The oncoming semi-truck clipped the right side of the rear end of the bus, enough to change Takeda's trajectory and tilt the bus almost enough to roll over. The unfortunate students on the right side of the bus, including Kiyoko, Suga, Hinata, and Yamaguchi, flew across the aisle and collided with those on the left as the steering wheel spun and the black haired teacher gripped it with all his might trying to change his course back to where he had it before. The back corner of the bus was hit with such force that it caused the wheel to malfunction as well thus making it hard to get the bus back on track. The sudden noise followed by the crunch of metal and glass caused the bus to rapidly spin in a half-circle before colliding with a guardrail, the momentum and size of the vehicle forcing it over the short rail. By this point everyone was awake and startled as the loud crash and collision with the rail caused the team to collectively jolt in a panicked state as they all experienced the bus tip over the rail with little resistance.

Yells of fellow team members could be heard as they all braced themselves the best they could by trying to grab hold of something, the bus starting its journey down the mountainside. Though this only took but a moment, for the team and their adult supervisors, time seemed to stop as the people aboard the bus saw their lives flash before their eyes as if in slow motion. Those on the right side of the bus fell out of their seats, into people on the left side, some crushing others. While others fell onto the glass of the windows in the empty seats, some cracking, other windows fully busting to pieces. The chaos inside and out was tremendous as bones cracked, screams filled the air, and the shuffling of bodies and bags shifted from one side to the next. The team fell with the momentum of the bus as it made its way down the mountainside. The cacophony of crunching metal, windows shattering and people screaming was nearly as frightening as the rolling tempest itself. The downpour of rain had created a slick mudslide, making it easier for the bus to continue to roll down but more difficult for passengers inside. With no seat belts to hold them down, the damage rate grew quickly. As bodies smashed against walls, windows, the ceiling, and even other people. The large vehicle seemed to hit every little thing, even changed trajectory at one time. Instead of rolling sideways the bus was now sliding down the cliff nose first at alarming speeds.

The seating arrangement didn’t matter anymore because nobody stayed long enough in the same seat. People who were on the left side would fly into those on the right, who would act as a cushion in their fall. While others weren’t so lucky when they fell, having nobody to fall into so most people just ended up on the floor, just trying to grab onto whatever they could. The people closest to the back hung onto whatever they could for dear life, while people near the middle like Hinata and Kageyama lay half under the seat, half in the isle way holding onto the edge of a seat as tight as possible. Cries of terror were heard throughout the crumpled metal shell as Suga slammed into Asahi and Narita into the ceiling. Those up front tried to follow suit by grabbing onto something as well, some with luck, others not. Kiyoko and Ukai were on the floor near the front window, Ukai gripping the front seat with all his might. The poor girl grabbing Ukai around the waist as tight as she could, tears running down her cheeks as she cried for help in the midst of the vehicular chaos. The Coach held tightly around the metal pole of the seat he was residing in only moments ago, as glass, twigs, branches, and dirt were getting thrown everywhere.

As the bus continued careening down the hellish mud-and-rock-covered ridge, the screams of the occupants became increasingly muted by the screeching and scraping of metal against cold stone like rakes clawing a chalkboard. Mud began to build up on the front end of the bus, slowing it down slightly and allowing the rear to catch up to it, resulting in the bus beginning to slide diagonally down the mountainside. A thunderous slam resonated throughout the vehicle as the back end crashed into a large tree. The broken windows near the collision completely shattered as the rear was repelled to the other side. Many of the, comparably, fortunate students who had secured handholds on the windows and seats were dislodged and catapulted toward the back windows. The emergency exit door in the back swung open, almost off its hinges, as gym bags, backpacks, and all sorts of things poured out of the bus. Ukai lost his grip with his left arm but the other remained fixed to the metal pole, despite shards of glass cutting open his exposed right arm. Instead of regaining his hold on the pole, he reached his hand down to the manager, whose grip on his waist began to weaken from the impact. He managed to grab one of Kiyoko's arms near the elbow while struggling to hold on to the bar with his other hand.

Suddenly, the bus, as if in a cruel pinball machine, recoiled back straight upon slamming into yet another large tree. Thus causing the emergency exit that was barely holding on before to get completely ripped off. Windows shattered yet again, sending more glass through the air to accompany the ragdoll-like students. The force of this collision detached Kiyoko's grip on Ukai completely and Ukai, already weakened from this ride through hell, felt her arm slip through his fingers and watched as she was propelled overtop the seats toward the back of the bus. As she tumbled backward, Kiyoko felt her right wrist snap backward as both pain and blood shot to her head, causing her ears to ring as her right arm burned. Her knuckles were now touching her forearm and a shattered, spear-like bone protruded out of her wrist. She had nearly lost consciousness from this when her legs hit a broken window about halfway from the back of the bus.

This window was not close enough to the rear and so had not completely shattered but was weak enough so that her legs could crash through and wedge herself into the window, bottom half dangling outside the bus and the top half still inside. Kiyoko attempted to move but the glass of the window had already pierced into her waist, meaning the only way out was to push herself back into the bus, which was not possible with her one arm and lack of energy. The descending vehicle began to turn diagonal yet again with Kiyoko's window facing toward the front, the pressure and roughness of the descent forcing the glass deeper into Kiyoko's waist. She could hardly keep her head straight when she saw, illuminated by the single remaining headlight of the bus, a large, dark pine tree. Kiyoko could do nothing but watch as the bus rammed into the tree at an angle near the front, causing the bus to slide along the tree. She simply looked at Ukai with tears in her eyes as the tree met her position on the bus, flattened her legs and viciously ripped her out of the bus, leaving only pieces of her torn off skin on the sills of the windows behind where she was.

Not only Kiyoko’s, but other voices faded into the night as the cries and screams echoing inside the bus began to diminish one by one. Some were ejected from the bus while others simply fell silent while still inside of the steel deathtrap. Not long after Kiyoko’s demise, the bus rammed forcefully into a strong group of trees, the sudden abrupt force resounded through the broken landscape. The force of the stop made some bodies fly forward out of the bus through the windshield into glass-covered earth or even the trees themselves. The engine, smoking since the top of the hill, caught fire, leaving the nose of the bus covered in small flames and thick black smoke. Branches pierced through the fire and smoke into the vehicle, stretching in as if inviting those left inside into the blackish inferno.

No more screams could be heard throughout the landscape. The screeching metal cage had finally come to a silent halt. Even the rain had diminished from the previous downpour to a light drizzle. The only sound that remained was the light tapping of rain on the leaves of the canopy above and on the shell of the bus. Dishonest tranquility and silence birthed from the heart of chaos.

 

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	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First let me thank my AMAZING boyfriend for helping me write this story (he does not have any sort of account so I can't tag him). 
> 
> I want to say a few things right off the back though:
> 
> 1\. I will try to updated every Thursday but this week I am going to Colossolcon in Sandusky Ohio so I will update it today, Wednesday, because I have a lot to do this weekend.
> 
> 2\. Like I said before there are no actual pairings in this story, just best friends looking out for each other, but I will continue to write in such a way that any pairing is a possibility. :) 
> 
> 3\. I HIGHLY suggest listening to this playlist of songs during reading to set the mood for you (or any of the other two playlist I sent in chapter 1) It's the one with the pretty blue eyes.
> 
> "2-Hour Epic Music Mix | Audiomachine - Most Beautiful & Powerful Music - Emotional Mix" 
> 
> 4\. Lastly, please Comment!! I love reading all your thoughts. p.s. there is kind of an oc-ish character I guess in this chapter. It will make more since once you read it. Thanks and HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!! Now let me see those tears of sadness and distraught. LOL.

##  Chapter 2

Some time passed and the rain continued to berate the mountainside as if deciding whether or not to stop completely.  The broken bus lay motionless in a crumpled form near the bottom of the mountain, smoke oozing out into the night air. The atmosphere outside was tense yet eerily quiet as if life's conductor raised its hands to order an uproar of screaming brass but froze in place, leaving the entire orchestra of life to remain unnaturally and chillingly quiet. It felt like pure suspended insanity; life void of all components and mechanisms. It was as if the people who were once inside the bus lay lost and defeated as silence overpowered the mountainside.

The captain of the Karasuno volleyball team lay angled upward on his back  in an unbearably uncomfortable position as a large tree branch from outside the bus got forced underneath him when he went through the windshield. The teen got ejected from the bus near the end of the descent; the surrounding glass, metal, and tree branches all seemed to claw at him like a cat getting a new toy. His body, which laid unconscious moments before, was now trying its best to spring back into life despite the numerous cuts and scrapes of every size decorating almost every inch of his being, including a single large gash in stomach; the source of the gradually increasing pool of blood under his back. His eyes hesitated as they began to shift back and forth under his closed lids for a few moments until finally, his body allowed him to open his eyes slowly, as blurry images tried to piece themselves together to determine his current location. Once his dark grey eyes gradually focused in more and more he tried to understand what just happened after the crash, but his mind remained fuzzy with images not fitting together correctly, like a puzzle in his brain trying over and over again to get each piece to fit in their respective places. The stench of blood quickly met his nostrils as he suddenly had the urge to throw up. Upon fully opening up his eyes, he tried his best to move his head from side to side to look around, eyes going in and out of focus, but still couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

The captain tried to get up; first propping up on his elbows, as rain fell on him, then trying to use the edge of a nearby tree to hoist himself off the branch underneath him. As he attempted this maneuver, he immediately regretted making that decision, as a sharp pain resonated through his body and he yelped out in agony. The pain surged through him as if his veins and bloodstream were on fire as he muffled out a cry. He looked down to try and piece together why he hurt so terribly only to see his shirt ripped almost to shreds and blood smeared below his left arm around his abdomen. He winced as he looked down and found what was once the metal divider of the window he was sleeping against jabbed into his side, blood leaking everywhere. Staring at the bloody sight below he felt bile rise up to his throat yet again as he tried to choke it back. Daichi knew that by taking out the metal shard that pierced through him that it would inevitably lead to his death, so he grudgingly decided to keep it in, trying hard to endure the pain.

Daichi knew that he was still wearing his Karasuno jacket and so he thought maybe he could use it to restrict the blood flow would be a good idea as he questioned what the best possible way to get it off would be. He tried to slowly roll his shoulder to inch his way out of it, pain escalating in every movement after he found that a piece of it was snagged on the branch underneath him. Instead, he decided to first get off the unbearable uncomfortable branch. The captain clenched his teeth and slid his body down so that the branch was higher than before, away from his abdomen and closer to his neck, that way he could at least use it as a cushion of some sorts, being extra careful not to irritate the metal penetrating his stomach. Finally what seemed like forever, but in reality was a short amount of time, he got far enough down where his jacket unsnagged and his head now rested on the log. Daichi stopped momentarily and panted, trying to catch his breath, as rain slowly fell upon his face mixing with his sweat. Even after this tiny accomplishment, he persevered in attempting to bandage himself as he carefully maneuvered his arms over towards the zipper of his coat and shakily started unzipping, hands slipping in the rain. After the third try, he finally managed to unzip his jacket and he heaved out a sigh of relief.

Once done, with what should have been an easy task, he propped up on one elbow and tried to move his torso to remove his track jacket and, despite hardly noticing that it was even there, felt pain sear through him as he attempted this. Daichi clenched his teeth trying not to scream out as a little whine escaped, but was stopped short as a tugging sensation shifted something inside him and revealed that the shard had skewered not only him but his jacket as well. Furthermore, with every movement of his torso he exhibited, the jacket was pulled further inside his body, as more blood rose from the wound that invaded him.

“Shit! Fuck!” Daichi cursed out loud in exasperation as his vision started to go white in blinding pain and the blood continued to flow, perhaps even more than before. I was doing so well too… Not knowing what would happen to him and where everyone was at, was starting to take it’s toll on the captain as he shakily looked around for some sign of anyone else but came up empty. He tried calling out for help but his voice came out much weaker once it left his mouth, sounding like a mere squeak. Without anyone to help him he took it upon himself to try one more time to get his jacket off from his right side and wrap it around the metal protruding from him, he had to do this, it was the only way he could save himself. Daichi gulped and prepared himself for the pain that would undoubtedly come as he lifted his right shoulder up and rotated his elbow around in an attempt to remove the jacket. The sweat running down his forehead fell into his eyes, causing the captain to stop mid process and use one of his hands to wipe it off. The rain had started to pick up now and was hitting Daichi directly in the face making it almost impossible to see what he was doing at all.

“Dammit…” Daichi grumbled as he tried shifting ever so slightly on his right elbow. In any other circumstance he could normally do this simple task of taking a jacket off, but his strength felt like a fraction of what it normally was and he could barely make a firm grasp of the wet material. “Damn it! Come on…” Daichi swore with urgency in his voice as he collapsed in defeat, his head falling back and eyes closing. A few moments passed as he opened his eyes and stared up at the dark sky, droplets of rain beating down on his face. He reached one hand up to try and cover up his eyes like a visor as he lay in the mud alone with his thoughts.

 _Where is everyone?_ His mind kept returning to the rest of the team, concerns mounting as the silence that surrounded him only moments ago was now replaced by the sound of heavy rainfall hitting off the tree leaves and metal structure of the bus which was barely visible through the thick black smoke and fog. The bus itself was around 15-20 meters away from him, but the rain mixed with the thick smoke from the bus, made the bus virtually impossible to even see. Placing his hands on the wet, muddy ground, he instinctively attempted to get up once more and grab his jacket, _third time's the charm right?_ He told himself, trying his best to boost his own confidence.

“I have to stop the blood flow somehow…” he huffed, not going down without a fight. “If not I'll bleed to death.” This time though, he was able to lift himself up further than last, thinking that he finally was going to succeed in getting the jacket off his right side enough so that he could wrap it around the left. His momentary joy though faded as his hands and elbows that were holding him up slipped on the muddy surface below them and the back of his head came crashing down on the branch he was using as a pillow of sorts. Not only did this cause him to receive a full blown headache but with the way he landed on it he also got that uncomfortable stinging sensation back in his jaw. His jaw that was killing him earlier on the bus now made itself present as the pain intensified, though still easily dwarfed by the pain in his abdomen. This recent attempt at moving caused what felt like a hammer striking a hot chisel in his abdomen to rush through his senses as Daichi let out a bloodcurdling scream and dropped back to the ground, sweating profusely. Within seconds, dizziness started to take effect and it felt as though he would lose conscious at any given moment.

 _‘Damn it...' Daichi struggled as fear overcaem his features and his mind started to wander. 'What’s happening to me?’_ Daichi thought as he panted heavily, worry sweeping across his face.   _‘How could I be so careless?_. _... If only I knew of a better way to get this damn thing off then I could move and I wouldn't have to worry about this.’_ Daichi looked down at the piece of pole thrust inside him. So much blood covered his lower half making it unbearingly difficult to stay positive about anything in this situation.

“I just have to think about something else besides the pain.” he told himself as fear tried to overcome him. “I hope the others are doing better than I am. I hope Suga, Asahi, and all the others are still alive and well. Please let them be alright... Please let mine be the worst of all, they have to be okay… they have to be…” Daichi huffed out as if chanting a prayer. Lightheadedness making its way back to the captain making everything slightly blurry around the corners of his vision. Everything he had gone through in the last couple minutes was almost too much to handle.

Suddenly though, Daichi heard a shifting of something; something in the bushes. He tried his best to turn his head and call out to anyone but once again his voice failed him. His eyes refused to focus in on the direction of the noise, causing him to squint, hoping that it was someone that could help. He tried his best to lift his head in that direction in attempt to see who, or what, it was and after a few seconds a figure towards his right emerged from the bushes. It appeared to be a person, rather short, a girl maybe? Eventually the blurred figure came within distance, exhausted and huffing. It wasn’t until the person got closer did Daichi recognize the it as Yachi. The assistant manager emerged with a slight limp in her step as she made her way towards Daichi with extreme worry present on her face. The girl huffed, taking several deep breaths as she bent over slightly and  placed her hands on her legs. After her second long break to catch her breath, she continued eagerly running over towards him.

“Daichi!!” she screamed as she headed for him, blood oozing from a large cut on her right upper thigh, running all the way down her leg. Once she got to him she practically fell and gasped. Daichi let out a quick sigh in relief upon seeing a familiar face, though his breathing was extremely labored as he looked up at her, eyes focusing in and out. Yachi leaned in front of him, her hair was messy and she had tears in her eyes and cuts all along her body, but the main priority was the one on her right leg. There was a bit of purple surrounding it, most likely infected, but she seemed overall okay. The panicky girl was definitely shell-shocked and still trying to overcome the crash mentally, but physically, she was much better than Daichi himself. She scanned over Daichi, eyes immediately finding the source of his pain: the piece of sharp blood-stained steel protruding from an area near his abdomen. Yachi’s eyes got big and wide with tears as she looked at the scene unfolding in front of her and cried.

“Oh God…OH GOD... Daichi i-it’ll be okay. J-just-” the small blonde girl quivered, clearly at a loss for words as she herself was still trying to comprehend the sight in front of her. “I-I’ll try and stop it somehow? Oh God, how?” Yachi stumbled over her words looking mortified as Daichi’s eyes started to droop closed. The first year took both hands and placed them around the slowly flowing blood as she yelled at Daichi to stay with her.

He tried to snap out of it as he turned his head to gather in some more of his surroundings, his blood continuing to run out of his side and his vision beginning to darken incredibly, almost passing out from his anguish. Words and sentences starting to sound more sloppy and incoherent as time trickled by. The pain was unbearable as his head rolled around in a feeble attempt to stay conscious, only barely hearing the words Yachi was telling him.

After a few second, the dizzy spell seemed to fade enough for him to tell Yachi what he has been trying to do with his jacket. “I can’t move much on my own,” he sighed as he looked up pleadingly into Yachi’s eyes, “But I thought that if I can just get my damn jacket off I could wrap it around this thing.” Yachi stared at the captain with a confused look as Daichi continued on, pausing at various times to grunt through the pain as he trying to angle his right side upward, “Just pull this off... my arm and we can... use it.” Yachi simply sat kneeling beside him with her hands on her knees and her mouth slightly open, baffled by the third years request. She could see when he angled himself upward that the jacket that was being pulled into his wound was indeed there, but the right sleeve had been ripped to the point that it already lay detached from his right side and was soaking in the mud underneath his body. The only thing that remained on Daichi’s arm that he was still jestering toward Yachi was his jersey’s short sleeve and a long incision that ran almost from his elbow to his wrist, likely part of the reason his jacket lay in tatters beneath him.

Surrounding the jersey and Daichi himself sat a pool of his blood, causing Yachi to attribute this odd request as a symptom of his apparent immense blood loss. With her eyes beginning to tear up, she put her hand delicately on Daichi’s right shoulder and pretended to remove his jacket while actually grabbing the real jacket beneath him. She did not have time to help him realize that the jacket was not there as he was likely surviving on borrowed time already. After carefully setting him back down, Yachi stood and frantically looked around for any sort of medical supplies, or any bag at all for that matter. If she found one of their bags there could be a phone in it and some extra clothes that she could use as a makeshift bandage. The rain was coming down harder now as she scanned the crash site eventually spotting what looked to be a duffle bag over by a tree not too far away. Upon closer inspection she was relieved to find out that it was indeed a duffle bag as she limped over as fast as she could and grabbed it. Once back to Daichi she ripped open the bag, missing the zipper the first time because of her shaky hands, but managed to get ahold of it the second time. Inside the bag was a Karasuno jersey with the number 3 on it, a pair of socks, and a half drank water bottle. Yachi reached inside and grabbed hold of the jersey and used it to keep the pressure on his injury in a feeble attempt to halt the flow of blood. The captain looked at her and the jersey number and knew instantly that it was Asahi’s bag.

“Thanks” was all he could stifle out as he winced and tried not to think about the pain.

Yachi then reached back into the bag and grabbed hold of the jersey shorts and decided to wrap them as best as she could around her own leg to stop the blood that was slowly tricking out. The shorts though proved to be hard to wrap around so she took it upon herself to rip the shorts into a more suitable cloth. Hard concentration was taken which caused her to take one of her wrist to wipe sweat off her brow, as she sat there soaking wet from the previous rain and wondered how all this could happen? Was this really real? After finishing the task of wrapping the bruise on her leg she reached back into the bad for the third time.  

Yachi though, seemed flustered as she kept opening and closing different zipper pockets looking for something. “Why doesn’t he have a phone?!” she restlessly fretted as Daichi just looked up confused at first then anger darkening his brow “Damn it, not again Asahi!” The captain cursed exhaustedly as Yachi, slightly startled by the outburst, grew more curious at the captain's words. As if on cue from Yachi’s expression, Daichi continued “He never brings his phone to matches. He refuses to bring it actually! He always tells everyone that he’s afraid to lose it. Suga and I have both told him in the past to bring it just in case of emergencies” he attempted to gesture, the pain causing his breath to hitch “like this one for example! But still he forgets!” Daichi fumed before taking a deep breath and continuing. “Figures that his bag is the first bag we find too”.

Yachi groaned, not being able to call for help in times of immense pressure was not something that she took well to. Her stress levels were already at it’s max as she let her arms drop in defeat.

“Do you know where everyone else is?” Daichi asked hoping that the answer would be that everyone else was fine and that he was the only one to suffer, but when Yachi shook her head slowly, Daichi’s eyes widened in fear.

“No sorry... When I woke up, I was outside the bus in some bush and when I heard you scream I quickly ran to help you. I didn’t get a chance to look around,” she answered carefully taking her wrists and wiping away her crying eyes, as the tears slowly leaked out. Her fingers wet with a combination of mud, blood and rain as she noticed that the sky started letting up to a drizzle again. “I’m so scared Daichi,” she hiccuped, body slightly shaking.  A switch inside of the captain felt like it had flipped, as if some fatherly aspect about him wanted to protect this young girl from any harm as he saw her crying in front of him. He slowly tried to sit all the way from his semi-slumped position against the log, head slightly leaning against it for some support, with a mixture of fear and pain across his face, the rush of adrenaline allowing him to stay conscious.

“We need to find everyone else. As much as it pains me to say this, or even _think_ about this, the others may be worse off than me,” Daichi admittedly suggested, staring down at the metal shard in his abdomen and feeling overpowering dread. “And if you see any other abandoned bags along the way grab them, they may be useful” the captain added as Yachi nodded in agreement and both her and Daichi looked over towards the direction of the bus, the smoke and rain combo still in full effect.

After getting everything situated, and Yachi herself about ready to go look for some other survivors, the young girl glanced back over at Daichi and was going to tell him that she would be back in a minute, but she was cut short when she noticed his eyes focusing in and out. Eyeing him questioningly she decided to wait a minute to see if he was okay. "Daichi?" She questioned, Daichi's reponse nonexistent. 

Daichi’s eyes that were once so full of life were now lingering in a dark faded state as they soon started drooping closed. He reopened his eyes slowly to find a middle aged woman with black hair tied back into a ponytail that lay swung over her shoulder staring back at him. The lady wore a pair of blue jeans along with an emerald green top with a light sequence of small beads on the collar. The woman also wore a pair earrings that hung with a somewhat intricate silver metal pattern that curved around a small emerald stone that dangled just below her ear.  She possessed some sort of pleasant aura that surrounded her as she kneeled by Daichi’s side where Yachi once was, a bright comforting smile stretched across her face.

“Mom?” Daichi quivered in a raspy and uncertain tone and tears began to fill his eyes. Her smile shined brighter in response as the scenery around them simply melted away until the only remaining elements were Daichi and his mother. “What are you doing here?”, he asked, as his mother reached out her hand to wipe his tears away.

“I came to see you, honey. I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you,” his mother reassured him. “You’ve become  such a handsome man, your father must be so proud of you.” Her voice seemed as soothing as a songbird’s cry that could be heard delicately spreading over open sun-painted meadows.  Daichi looked up into his mother’s relaxed green eyes and failed to notice both his fear and pain immediately vanish, only to be replaced a state of pseudo-intoxication.

Daichi sat confused yet relieved as he smiled back and thanked his mother in a slurred, nearly incomprehensible, manner. Upon seeing her son’s grin, Daichi’s mother moved her hand up to the top of his head and rubbed his hair, causing the tired captain to lean into her hand like a kitten purring to its master. She always tended to keep her nails at a long length and would often massage and scratch Daichi’s head when he was a youth. His mother began to sing him a soft lullaby, continuing to scratch and rub his head, to which in response he smiled and relaxed, letting all his muscles relieve tension as he drifted off into a serene sleep. Daichi continued to look with euphoric disposition at his mother, the intervals of his blinks becoming shorter and shorter. After about a minute or two, the image of his mother began to slowly fade, becoming translucent though still defined. His grin never faltered, however, despite watching his mother fade away like an old polaroid picture in reverse.  Sluggishly, he whispered, “Wait… Mom, please come back… I miss you…” as she completely vanished before his eyes. Even after her visage was completely gone, her voice remained in his head for a few moments more, still singing the lullaby to her baby boy.

Yachi took a long hard look him questionally. _Is he delirious,_ she questioned to herself as she witnessed a tear escape from Daichi closed eyes and listened to him softly call out to his mother. She lightly grabbed his shoulders and shook him once again, more concerned than ever before as the captain refused to wake up, though still avoiding injuring him further. “Daichi! Hey, Daichi, snap out of it, please! It’s me, Hitoka Yachi. Yachi! I’m not your mother, come on, you have to keep your eyes open! You have to stay awake.” She screamed as her captain slowly started regaining some composure.  “Don’t worry, we’re going to call for help soon! I promise.” Yachi told Daichi as his eyes slowly opened again looking like he was deep in thought. After hesitating a moment, the captain looked up at the young girl more closely.

“Yachi?" he muttered, trying to speak. His words were strained and slurred as he with extreme difficulty said, “What’s going on? Is the match about to start?”

“I was just about to go look for the oth-” she replied as the ending of Daichi’s question caught up to her and made her stop mid sentence. ‘ _Wait, what Match?_ ’ The young girl quizzically stared at him, _maybe he really was delirious? Or maybe he’s having hallucinations?_

“I was just about to go look for the others” she repeated again as Daichi’s head seemed to slowly roll from side to side.

“Daichi, there is no game. We already won all of them hours ago. Then we got into a crash and fell down the mountain.” Yachi told him slowly as the captain looked as if he was intoxicated laying on the muddy ground in some random forest.

“Alright good, just make sure Hinata is out of the bathroom in time to start our warm-ups” Daichi continued on as if not even hearing what the girl just told him only moments before. Yachi, now even more fearful than before stated again “Daichi listen to me. We already played our matches today and we won them all. But on our way home something terrible happened and we got into a bad accident.” The girl enunciated trying to get to Daichi’s head as the boy just looked over in confusion.

 _“What?” he asked after a moments hesitation as the captain lifted a hand up to his head “_ The games finished?”

“Yes!” Yachi reiterated with her bottom lip quivering as she nearly burst into tears again. Daichi did not respond to her answer and instead visibly shivered, which Yachi noticed. She went into the bag to find some other piece of clothing to help keep him warm, something like a sweater she could lay on top of him, but all that was left was a pair of socks which would not solve anything and a small bag of hair ties.

"Say, Yachi?” Daichi asked after a moment's hesitation, “It's cold in here. Can you go tell them to turn the air conditioning down?” Daichi muttered as he too seemed to wrap his arms around his torso the best he could and visibly shivered. Yachi stopped searching upon hearing his latest request and turned to look at Daichi who was not even looking at her anymore and had head was leaning back against a branch at an angle. His eyes were not focused on her like before, nor did they seem to be focused on anything at all as he blankly stared up into the canopy above, rain hitting his face as Daichi himself was too out-of-it to even seem to comprehend what was even going on anymore.

Yachi seemed to be at a loss for words as she looked at her teammate with utmost concern and thought about what to say next. Knowing full well that she was outside and there was no way to turn down the imaginary air conditioning, she simply stared at him questioningly. With nothing coming to her mind as to how to respond to his apparent lunacy she simply went along with his story the best she could and said, “I’m going to go find someone that can help, okay? Maybe Ukai is around here somewhere?” Daichi agreed upon hearing this and thanked the girl as both he and Yachi looked up towards the sky, feeling the rain pick back up again.

“I’ll be right back Daichi. I’m going to go find someo…” she stopped in the middle of her sentence and sighed, almost in defeat. “I’m going to go ask Ukai if he can tell the school to turn down the air conditioning,” Yachi said with a hint of sadness edging her voice as a look of determination filled her body and she did a little fist pump. “I swear I’ll make it quick as I can! Will you be okay here by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said as he looked around drowsily. “I just need to find my bag and get dressed, it’s somewhere around here in one of these lockers…Oh! If you see Hinata out there tell him he needs to hurry up as well, he’s always...” His voice trailed off as he looked back up toward the sky, his eyes being unable to focus on anything as rain continued to fall, soaking everything around him. He started to reach his right hand up and clenching as if trying to grab something, though all he managed to grasp were drops of rain.

Yachi looked down and sighed sorrowfully, then took this as her cue to leave as she set off to track down the others, knowing all too well that Daichi was fading between life and death. _‘I have to find someone quick’_ she muttered to herself limping over towards the direction of the bus. While limping towards the vehicle, Yachi suddenly felt her foot trip over a branch in the process, causing her to fall face first into the puddle. The girl fell into the mud, bringing her hands out just in time to fall on her palms and not her face, slight scrape marks along her hands now mixing with the mud below her. A small stinging now added to her injuries as she held back the tears she wanted so badly to let out, trying to be strong. As Yachi looked over towards the branch, she noticed it was just the right size to support her as she crawled over and grabbed it, hugging it close to her chest in the mud as a light rumble was heard miles away.

As if on cue from the rumble in the sky, tears started freely falling down her face as the last proverbial straw snapped in her mind and the girl weeped. _‘That’s it! I’ve had enough,’_ everything around her was just too nightmarish to be real, causing her to curl her open hand into a fist and uncharacteristically slam it into the ground. ‘ _This wasn’t actually happening’_ , she thought as she just snapped, the last bit of patience she had in the world fading. ‘ _Why is this happening to us?!’_ She sobbed as she gripped the branch in her hand tighter and using it to stand, her right leg almost failing to work as Yachi dragged herself up the pole.

“Please let there be somebody alive on the bus” she huffed out, rain really coming down now as her hair fell in front of her face covering most of her eyes. “Please…” her voice trailing off as she trekked towards the bus in an extremely sluggish manner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I will suggest to listen to the epic/sad music playlist. Also, sorry for updating a tad late, this chapter was giving me some technical difficulties. Hope you life it!! Comments are always welcome.

##  **Chapter 3**

Down the slope from where Daichi awoke lay the battered and smoking bus, wedged in between a pair of strong Spruce trees. During the descent, the nose of the bus had accumulated a large amount of mud, dirt and other forest debris, all of which rested in a heap with the front of the bus and the aforementioned trees. Every window shattered on the way down the hill and the bus itself had pieces of metal and other miscellaneous materials dangling from the borders of the windows, as well as the ceiling. Both the front door and the emergency exit in the back of the bus were missing, each broken off by force. The bus was covered with large foot-wide dents, belligerently berated by the rocks, logs and trees located on the incline, yet somehow it ended its decent upright. These dents were dwarfed by the large depression near the back, which even dented the frame of the bus causing it to be bowed inward. White and black smoke emanated from the engine filling the already foggy atmosphere to create a thick translucent miasma. 

Inside the battered and smoking metal husk, Kinoshita’s eyes snapped open when a loud thundercrack from outside awoke him. His limbs twitched in fear as his head and eyes darted all around him looking for the source of the disturbance, the gathering rain only furthering his concern.  As his heart rate began to settle, he found that he was staring directly at the floor of the bus. He was pitched over the back of one of the seats like a wet towel on a clothesline, his shirt falling down to his arms revealing numerous purple bruises and thin slices across his abdomen and one large purple bruise the size of a baseball on his right side. Unlike Daichi, Kinoshita awoke rather suddenly and, when trying to correct himself, fell forward into the seat he was hunched over, causing him to lose his breath for a moment as he lay with his back on the seat staring upwards. Dense smoke from the front of the bus crawled along the metal ceiling and escaped out the broken windows near the back. As he watched the smoke slither its way out the window closest to him, he noticed that the few shards of glass that remained were splattered with blood. Kinoshita coughed upwards, his own saliva raining upon his face as he gripped his chest in pain and hoped to regain his own breath. Still with short and stocky puffs of breath, he rotated his head slightly to look around.

Upon seeing the dismal sight of the bus before him, Kinoshita’s mind raced through scenarios concerning himself and the state of the rest of the team, almost all of them predominantly frightening. The place looked like a warzone, as the second year scanned the area that he woke up in, the lightheadedness in his head fogging his memory. The bus itself looked like something out of a nightmare with its hanging metals and smoke causing it to look eerie. He had been thrown from seat to seat like the rest of the team but he still somehow managed to wake up inside the bus, despite the gaping hole in the back caused by the missing door. Everything in the bus seemed tinted a shade of gray as the second year coughed yet again from the smoke from the front getting pushed back towards himself and his eyes watered slightly. Everything around him was fuzzy and as he tried to sit up more clearly he felt a severe dizziness suround his body.

He felt nauseous as he shakily lifted a hand up towards his mouth and coughed, the shockingly violent hacks surprising the second year as he panted, momentarily out of breath, sweat accumulating on his forehead. His small coughing fit left Kinoshita momentarily breathless as he tried to take in more of his surroundings, but his lightheadedness was making it hard to concentrate on anything at all other than the growling in his stomach from his hunger of not eating anything since lunchtime. Suddenly though what he thought was his stomach growling because he was hungry turned into something else entirely. The grumbling turned disastrous as he felt a very unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach take its place making him painfully lurch forward onto his knees and off the seat he was currently residing on. It felt as if someone was taking his stomach and wringing it out like a wet rag, forcing him to uncontrollably revolt forward, vomiting all over. He could taste the aftereffects of his last meal he had, food no longer seemed satisfying anymore as the sensation burned his throat, eyes watering, leaving him in a defenseless state of shock and terror on all fours. 

As this episode subsided, Kinoshita was relieved to finally have a moment to catch his breath. It was then that he realized that in between his heavy pants for air, there was nothing. No sound could be heard around him; no sound from the bus, no response to this tremendous fit he just endured, not even a call for help. Kinoshita was alone… More alone than he had ever felt. It was terrifying.

He decided that he had to go look for somebody, anybody else, to rescue him from this solitude. The first time he attempted to stand he didn’t have the strength, glancing over at his trembling arms and legs, but the second time he managed to right himself up, despite his legs shaking uncontrollably, by grabbing a nearby seat to use as support. He felt pain in his stomach again as he decided to lift up his shirt to determine the cause. Upon lifting he found many cuts including one particularly ugly one that ran from his belly button in a sort of jagged line ending in the purple bruise the size of a baseball formed on his stomach. The second year slowly reached down to feel the bruise and flinched.

“Shit! Dammit, it hurts like hell”, he swore releasing his hand and placing it back on top of one of the wet broken seats, rain from outside coming through the obliterated windows. “This is bad, I have to hurry and get out of here as quickly as I can,” Kinoshita wheezed, hunching in on himself and trying to hold back the coughs but failing miserably as they just escalated into an intense pressure burning the inside of his lungs and making his eyes sting. The second year could not recall the last time he had ever felt so much pain. 

_Where the hell is everyone?_ he thought as his mind cleared up some and he heard the intense rain from outside smacking up against the bus as a rumbling of thunder grew progressively closer. _I mean, we were all on the bus together, so why am I the only one here?_ He questioned, trying to shake the lightheaded feeling that came and went as it pleased. He closed his eyes and shook his head as if trying to clear it and reopened his eyes to look up and down the aisle. He was near the center of the bus, so getting out using the back exit shouldn’t be too difficult, and that way he wouldn't have to rise going through the smoke up front, that was until he heard a grunt toward the front of the bus which, upon further inspection, was accompanied by a mysterious shadowy movement. Kinoshita stopped in his tracks and stepped slowly and carefully in the direction of the shadow, trying not to trip over his own feet as he advanced toward the source of the sound through the fog that accumulated in front of him.

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With nearly all the windows shattered to pieces, the loud explosion of thunder that woke Kinoshita echoed throughout the bus so loudly that it seemed the lightning had struck the bus itself.  At the front, deep in the bellowing smoke, Hinata lay sprawled out face-up on the floor of one of the seats with his arms stretched partially into the aisle. Diagonally across from him rested Coach Ukai, who remained almost entirely in the aisle not too far from the driver's seat, where branches invaded into the bus as if reaching in to grab them. The coach lay face down with his head toward the front of the bus where the smoke was most dense. Unlike Hinata, Ukai was awake and was attempting to right himself upwards, despite being very reserved in his movements. He first attempted to push himself up with his arms and hands, trying not to put too much weight on his heavily-lacerated right forearm. Once his torso was high enough, his right leg and knee steadily shifted up to his stomach to further lift him up so that he was on his hands and knees. He breathed deep before making the final motion to stand up, letting beads of sweat drip off his face onto the aisle. Placing his hand on a seat, he pushed himself up but stumbled, falling down with his left leg shaking and stretched out behind him. He gathered his composure once more and successfully rose to his feet, despite his left leg still experiencing tremors. 

He stood almost motionless, staring into the smoke pouring in from the broken windshield in a dazed state of mind. His head rolled slightly on his neck as everything began to spin and his vision turned red in his left eye. Kinoshita had advanced far enough into the smoke by now to see his coach standing in the midst of the bellowing fog and, despite having his back to Kinoshita, Ukai was quickly identified by the second year.

"Coach?" Kinoshita weakly murmured, his voice crass and hoarse. Just this small word set him off into a coughing fit as he hunched over in the smoke with his hand over his mouth the other on top of the seat closest to him. Ukai broke from his daze and snapped his head and shoulders back toward Kinoshita, the sudden motion sending a sharp headache to his forehead to which he winced and moved his hand up in response.  _'Wait', he thought as he immediately pulled back his hand, warm and dripping wet from simply touching his forehead for a moment. Ukai stared down at his hand and realized that it was drenched in not sweat, but his own dark crimson blood. He looked back up with a stunned, wide-eyed expression at Kinoshita, who had just recovered from another coughing fit. Ukai's knees weakened as everything in the bus blurred together before his eyes, not even being able to distinguish the boy who had called out to him just a moment before. He attempted to mutter something, but his voice fell silent as the borders of his vision darkened and whatever strength he had left in his legs failed._

"Coach!!" Kinoshita rushed to catch Ukai who collapsed forward. His body lifelessly slumped over Kinoshita's shoulder, who had to fall to one knee to save him from crashing forward into the aisle. Not strong enough to lift him back up, Kinoshita rotated Ukai around and situated him so that he was sitting against the back of a half-wrecked seat, the one across from where Hinata's unconscious body lay. Both men were weak and exhausted as Ukai dazly stirred, trying to look up at his student who huffed and wheezed in front of him. Up close Kinoshita noticed that Ukai had a deep cut slashed across his left eye the was bleeding profusely, causing the coach to become blinded in one eye. The cut itself would turn into a scar, that part was definite, but if he would ever be able to see out of that eye again was another question entirely. Ukai’s lacerated right arm was weak and bloody, cuts and scrapes lined it from wrist to bicep.

Kinoshita studied his coach as the older man wheezed and tried to regain some semblance of composure. “Coach Ukai?” Kinoshita questioned as the older man sluggishly opened up one eye to look at the boy in front of him, “Are you okay?” Kinoshita knew all too well how stupid that question must have sounded as soon as it came out of his mouth but Ukai nodded nevertheless. Ukai seemed to understand him and tried to speak, voice coming out a lot more groggily than he would have liked.

“mmm fine,” he groaned as he achingly used his arms to shift his sitting position into a more upright one with his back now flush against the end of the seat. Once he correctly situated himself, he let his head fall forward and stared down at the ground below him, his hoarse wheezing advancing into a slight cough. Without moving his head, he looked up toward Hinata, who lay only feet from himself and Kinoshita, still failing to show signs of movement. “Go check‘m,” Ukai raucously slurred with extreme difficulty as he gestured the best he could by lightly rolling his shoulder and upper arm in the direction of the young first year. Kinoshita looked across the aisle towards the seat next to him where Hinata was located.  Afraid of what result he will find, Kinoshita gulped and scooted closer towards the boy as Ukai watched, still struggling to fully regain himself. 

Hinata lay on the floor, unconscious and on his back, only a few feet from where Kinoshita and Ukai now rested. The boy’s body sat limp and still with one leg mangled and askew tucked underneath himself while the other rested partly on the seat next to him. His face was pale and had had multiple cuts and bruises adorning his body, including some rather deep slices in his knees where small shards of glass still remained, protruding outward, resembling the heads of morningstars. The second year took his hand and lightly shook the younger boy, crassly calling out his name over and over, but the usual jubilant first year remained motionless; he hardly even gave an indication that he was breathing at all. Kinoshita looked back towards Ukai who was slumped up with his back against the seat parallel to Hinata, watching as Kinoshita failed to elicit a response from the unconscious child. Not knowing what to do in these kinds of horrendous situations, Kinoshita looked from Hinata, back towards his superior with extreme concern plastered across his face. He shakily held his breath; his heart felt like it was running 1,000 miles a minute as he reached down with his right hand to see if his friend had a heartbeat. Pressing two fingers to his neck, Kinoshita’s initial reaction was that Hinata came across as cold, causing him to panic. His hands began to shake and tremble as his face tightened, about to cry, until he felt a very faint and fragile heartbeat beneath Hinata’s cold exterior. Kinoshita, relieved, blew out a deep breath that he didn’t even know he was holding as the good news started to take effect. 

“He’s not...” Kinoshita began to say but was interrupted by yet another fit of coughing, this one feeling even more violent than the previous ones, although shorter. He pulled his hand back from Hinata’s neck and instinctively used it to cover his mouth and he hunched over to the side and convulsed. Once done, he placed both of his hands on his legs and panted, attempting to salvage his previous compuse and strength, although largely superficial. As he regained himself, he noticed that his right hand was now slightly wet which was odd since he had remained inside of the bus and was protected by the pouring rain outside, except for the small stream of water entering the back and pouring down the aisle.  He curved his hand away from his leg and watched as liquid dripped off the bottom of his palm onto his pant leg and the aisle. Confused, he pulled his hand closer to his face and confirmed his fears: it was almost entirely covered in dark red blood.

Kinoshita quickly shot his hand back to his leg and started wiping the blood off as he felt like he wanted to vomit yet again, but nothing came forth. He didn’t feel any blood there before, and it couldn’t be from Hinata since the blood would not have covered his hand like that just by pressuring two fingers against his teammate’s neck. His eyes widened in fear as goosebumps covered his entire body.  Pulling his right hand up, he wiped his mouth with his wrist and looked down at it in horror; two small streaks of wet blood now stained his wrist. His jaw trembled and his feet began to tingle and go into numb panic, almost feeling as if he were about to pass out at the sight of his own blood and the absolute fear it instilled in him.

Realizing that he had yet to fully report on Hinata’s condition, he swallowed and proceeded to force out a couple of words. “He’s alive,” Kinoshita finally stammered as he now proceeded to wipe his right wrist off on his other pant leg with his back to Ukai.  _ I’m fine, I’m fine, it’s just a little, I’m fine _ , he continuously thought to himself,  _ we have enough problems as it is already _ . He glanced over his shoulder to see Ukai with his head leaning back against his seat, now brandishing the most meager of smiles of alleviation. With his failing vision and the smoke filling the bus, Ukai could hardly see Kinoshita, let alone notice the blood that came out with this latest coughing episode. Kinoshita sighed in relief, determined to keep a stiff upper lip about his own status in favor of those in comparatively worse situations.

He scooted back over towards Ukai, unsure of how to further deal with his broken teammate before him. Sitting once again against the half-destroyed bus seat, Kinoshita let the muscles in his arms and legs loosen and his limbs fell naturally onto the floor. His head drooped forward and he simply stared down at grooves in the aisle in front of him; his mind felt completely over-stimulated with anxiety and terror currently circling around him like vultures over a fresh corpse. Even now with Ukai and Hinata beside him, Kinoshita felt as alone as he did before. He knew that he needed more help aside from the arguably conscious Ukai; he knew that it was time to go find the others. 

Before he could rise, the weak second year felt as though his stomach was trying to rip in two as another coughing fit erupted inside him causing him to painfully yelp out and instinctively cross his arms over his stomach in pain, gripping tightly to his own sides. The sudden outburst caused the coach to become fully alert now as he reached his arm over to help pat Kinoshita's back with concern. The pain caused by this outburst was so intense that it brought tears to his eyes that burned as they slid down his cheeks and onto the floor below him. 

“Kinoshita, are you hurt?” Ukai questioned with a hint of skepticism in his voice. He had now shifted to sitting on his knees and although his voice had improved as well, the pain he was experiencing could still be heard masked deep behind his words. Neither of the men believed in the facades they were creating for each other, making Ukai’s question nearly redundant. He knew that Kinoshita was in pain, presumably just like everyone else that was on that ride into hell. As he thought about this, the face of Kiyoko losing her grip of him and falling away from Ukai toward the back of the bus and her demise entered his mind.  He simply stared down at the boy with extreme worry in his eyes, waiting for a response and thinking only about how to save the others from meeting a similar fate.

“It’s OK, don’t worry about me coach,” Kinoshita grimaced as he held one hand out to stop the coach from coming any closer, not wanting Ukai to come near enough to see the blood that was currently in droplets on his hand, “I’ve been like this since I got up. I just need some water is all,” Kinoshita concluded, trying his best to convince Ukai, and partially himself, of the obvious lie. He, like Ukai, tried to stay strong, his facade consisting of a half-hearted smile and striving to slowly stand up. This induced even more worry in Ukai but the coach stopped his progression toward Kinoshita and instead averted his eyes towards the floor, looking down to see if there were any bags or water bottles that he could use; alas, none could be found.

With Kinoshita now standing up and leaning against their seat for support, Ukai moved, still on his knees, towards Hinata. “Come on, let’s get you two out of here and find you some water,” Ukai said with a hint of worry in his tone looking down at the young first year before leaning over to pick him up. Despite his dissipated strength, Ukai carefully picked the boy up with one hand under Hinata’s knees, being wary of inflicting more pain to the already disfigured leg, while the other wrapped around the back of his thin torso underneath the shoulder blades. Ukai winced in pain as his lacerated forearm touched the boy’s shirt but he grudgingly carried onward, enduring the pain the best he could. Now that he was much closer to Hinata than before, Ukai noticed how pale the first year really was and could feel the slow labored breathing of Hinata as he cradled him in his arms.  _ Shit, I need to find a way to call for help soon _ , Ukai kept thinking over and over as he made a motion to stand back up with Hinata in his arms. The coach's legs lifting unsteadily at first, stubbling in the process but was supported by Kinoshita holding him up the best he could. Ukai could not fathom what he would do without Kinoshita to help him out right now as finally both him and the second year turned around and started walking towards front door.

Smoke continued to pour from the engine and crawl along the ceiling and over the top of seats around them, essentially framing the empty aisle before them with an arch of smoke. Stepping carefully down the wet aisle, Kinoshita led the way into the breach with strong determination like Henry at Harfleur, Ukai following behind with the injured Hinata still in his arms. The branches of the trees likewise seemed determined to hamper their progress and forcefully drag them down into the smoky black abyss in which they traversed. Kinoshita delicately moved the branches aside one by one, making sure that they also not assail his coach behind him by bending them over the seats to the side. Though it was only a few normal steps forward, this process took a couple minutes to complete successfully. Kinoshita was now struggling to bend all of the branches to the side to allow Ukai passed and, once at the front, turned around to use his back to further pressure the branches away from both Ukai and the front door. As Ukai passed him and was about to exit, Kinoshita shifted under the pressure of the tree branches and gave way slightly. Though he was able to protect Ukai and Hinata, he felt his foot bump into something on the ground. Kinoshita looked down, assuming it was someone’s bag, and Ukai, who had turned around to check on Kinoshita's safety, followed suit. Pure horror spread across the two men's faces as both Kinoshita and Ukai felt their arms weaken, the latter almost dropping Hinata on the ground in shock at what they had found.

Still securely in his seat belt in the driver’s seat, the body of Takeda sat motionless with his right leg broken and twisted to the side away from his seat. Multiple tree branches and limbs, sharp like those Kinoshita was currently holding back, had pierced his chest, pinning him to his own seat. One branch had shot through the windshield straight through his mouth and out the other side, causing his head to slide partly down the branch and twist slightly so that it was almost looking out the door where Ukai was now standing. Glass shards were dotted across Takeda’s face with streaks of dried blood falling down his skin from each of them, his dislocated jaw hung open from the branch’s intrusion and, even more horrifyingly, his eyes were still open. The cold and dead brown eyes of Takeda stared at Kinoshita and Ukai, his face suspended in a state of terror and remorse, almost as if pleading for them to save him from this fate. Ukai’s jaw trembled as he backed up out of the bus and almost fell, just barely managing to catch both himself and Hinata from tumbling out the door. Kinoshita instinctively ran out of the bus and fell to his knees on the ground next to Ukai, vomiting whatever was left in his stomach and an unsettling amount of blood. Shaking and nearly choking on his own vomit, Kinoshita quickly wiped his mouth, worrying that Ukai saw the blood, but when he noticed his coach gaping at the open doorway of the bus with his mouth wide open the second year chose to just sit on the ground and place his palms up to his eyes.

“Takeda-sensei…” Ukai quivered as he continued to stare back into the smoke-filled bus. Despite not being able to physically see Takeda’s body anymore, the image of his pierced and broken corpse and his lifeless eyes staring at Ukai remained etched in his mind, so much that he felt that he could still see Takeda staring at him through the smoke. Ukai started to lightly cry, singular tears falling on Hinata’s chest, and he could hear, in between heaves, Kinoshita loudly sobbing into his own hands. As the elder, Ukai knew that he had to at least try to keep his composure for Kinoshita’s sake, if not for anyone else they find. He moved over to Kinoshita and stood next to him, now looking out into the dark woods with his one good eye, “We need to keep moving, Kinoshita. There’s nothing we can do here, we need to find the others,” he continued, attempting as best he could to rally the sobbing second year. Kinoshita, nearly exhausted from holding the branches back and then crying so heavily, remained with his palms pressed up agains his eyes but nodded nevertheless, agreeing with Ukai. Both men believed they needed to stay strong for the sake of each other, which meant having to accept and deal with inevitable death and pain. Kinoshita stood on his own, looked at Ukai with tears in his eyes and silently nodded. They needed to persevere, they needed to be strong. 

The two stood silently together for a moment, breathed deep and turned around to face the bus, rain viciously pelting them in the face. Before even having the chance to really say goodbye or even decide on a direction to travel, an ear-piercing scream rang through the night. Ukai reacted first, moving as fast as he could in the direction of the scream, which came from the other side of the bus. Kinoshita hesitated slightly, not expecting to find another sign of life so quickly, let alone in such a terror-filled state. He quickly followed suit and caught up to Ukai, who was moving slower because of Hinata, as he circled around the back of the bus. As they curved around the right taillight, the pair found Yachi kneeling before them, covered from head-to-toe in a combination of blood and mud and openly weeping near the enter of the bus, trying her best to pull something from under the bus. 

Before Yachi could even tell them about Daichi, she screamed at the two of them, “Help me, he’s dying!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS CHAPTER IS SO LATE!!!!!! Honestly, I had this chapter like 3/4 written and then decided like 4 days before that I didn't like it and scrapped the whole chapter...This one is soooo much better!! Also it was my birthday June 18 on Saturday and I had to prepare for a party/ family reunion pig roast and all this crazy stuff while babysitting ad AHHHHH so just for all of you guys that waited so patiently I made this chapter extremely long!!!! WOOHOO Also for now on I will probably update every two weeks...i'm sorry but I'm a busy person. Well anyway I hope you have fun reading this!!

 

Chapter 4

Far up the incline, firmly entangled in the shadowy snare of night, Yamaguchi struggled to maintain his own consciousness, wrestling the overwhelming torture he felt from performing the most basic of movements. He strenuously raised his left arm a few inches into the air ahead of him and dropped it exhaustingly back onto the sodden hillside, gripping mud and leaves between his fingers. His head tiredly sat on the ground, body tilted so that the left lay continuously soaked in the mud and the right side, berated by the pouring rain above, was being washed clean. Long gashes decorated the right side of his body like stripes of a tiger, ranging from his knee all the way up to his shoulder. The rain viciously attacked his wounds which, although being preferable to dragging the cuts through the mud, still felt like jolts of electricity surging through his body with every drop. His body gently shook from his short and labored breaths as he tried to push himself forward through the mud with his arms and left leg, succeeding but also slightly sliding down the steep mountainside.

Yamaguchi had awoke fearfully a few minutes prior as the pain in his body intensified to the point in which his fevered sleep could not endure further. Upon waking, the first thing he heard was a loud rumble from the sky, as if a barrage of cannons fired off simultaneously from the heavens themselves. The frightened teen whimpered all alone on the steep, muddy mountainside, rain causing him to get pushed further down the trail of wreckage caused by the bus. He immediately curled into a ball, yelling out in anguish as his entire right side flared up in extreme, near-blinding agony. Allowing the torrent to clean his wounds, he regained enough consciousness to attempt to stand by gripping the bark of a nearby tree, but his right leg full of shattered bones would not allow such an action. Falling to the ground, he lay motionless on his left side, screaming with such intensity that his voice rang silent and tears cascaded down his cheeks. For a time, he refused to move a single centimeter as the smallest motion would cause some sort of suffering, even his short gasps for air felt like knives in his abdomen. Defeated, Yamaguchi surrendered to the desolation and the darkness, curling in on himself yet again, crying into his palms, as the downpour of rain washed over him. Fear and pain were Yamaguchi’s constant companions, torturing him with twisted thoughts as he lay motionless weeping on the cold, wet ground. All that ran through his mind was fear: the fear of not understanding why this happened to them, the pain that radiated from his side, and the agony he felt from the loneliness permeating the mountainside. That was until he noticed something from the corner of his eye, some movement or motion that shattered his sense of solitude.

Through the stream of tears, he noticed what he once believed to be a rock, mound of mud, or even just a hump of broken trees a few meters away from him begin to move ever so slightly. At first he thought it was his imagination as he took one of his hands and wiped the tears out of his eyes just enough so that he could better squint and determine what it was exactly that he was observing. Upon scanning over that area for the second or even third time, he managed to finally focus his eyes enough to see a faint silhouette of someone lying face down, half-buried in a collection of mud and dirt a few meters away. What he saw was the faint silhouette of someone breathing.

The individual lay with their head facing away from Yamaguchi and their arms outstretched in front of them up the hillside as if they were reaching back for the road above them. A collection of mud formed around their waist to the point that the person appeared to be half-buried, though one shoeless foot remained somewhat protruding from the mound. Despite his best efforts, it was far too dark for Yamaguchi to ascertain who exactly it was, but he was able to recognize the team’s track jacket on the person in question, the same that he himself still had on, although his was shredded on the one side. Seeing his fellow teammate in such a state relit a fire in Yamaguchi, motivating him to do his best to assist one of his friends. In his mind, he was prepared to suffer or possibly even perish alone, but if there was something he could do to save someone else, he would gladly expend every resource he could muster. Yamaguchi slowly situated himself on his left side and began the slow process of pulling and pushing himself alone the mud-covered slope.

In spite of his extreme injuries, Yamaguchi crawled at a surprisingly swift pace, settling into a repeated cycle of moving his healthy left arm forward and using his other arm and left leg to propel his body forward through the wet hillside. During these motions, he continuously squinted forward, trying to focus his eyes through the dark and the rain to get some indication of who lay before him. The black tracksuit made the person hard to identify based on clothing, not to mention hard to see on the dark rainy hillside, but Yamaguchi was able to discern short spiky hair as he approached and his eyes began to focus to the dark. It wasn’t until he had almost reached the person that he identified the color of the boy’s hair as a light shade of gold. A noise that ranged somewhere between a gasp and a squeak escaped his mouth and he quickened his pace, disregarding the pain shooting through his nerves as mud and dirt mixed into his wounds now from his haphazard motions.

“T...ki!.......Tsukki!!...” Yamaguchi strenuously uttered, voice cracking as the pain from before started scorching his side with each passing moment. Once close enough, Yamaguchi fell practically over Tsukishima’s back winded from the journey and shook his friend’s body in hope for a response. With no response, Yamaguchi’s concern grew ever greater, wondering why his voice didn’t wake his friend. Scenarios flashed through his mind, most involving gruesome or horrific justifications for Tsukishima’s seemingly perpetual dormant state. Discarding all of these thoughts, he resolved to simply try once more, now with increased fervor and impatience, trying his best to illicit any kind of a response other than his debilitated breathing. “Tsukki! Hey! Come on Tsukki you got to get up!”

During this endeavor, he sought any visual explanation as to why his friend would not wake but still lacked the strength to pull him out of the mud, or even move himself much further. Yamaguchi laboriously reached over across Tsukishima’s back and grabbed his upper arm near the elbow, intending to pull and turn the unconscious boy over onto his back. He started pulling but stopped almost immediately, laying Tsukishima’s shoulder back down carefully. Yamaguchi worried that since his friend still would not respond in any way, perhaps moving the body with almost reckless abandon could cause further damage. He sighed with his hand still holding Tsukishima’s arm as he fought his internal debate as to if he should risk moving the body or not. Eventually, he settled upon leaving the body still and rested his head on Tsukishima’s back in defeat, trying to think of what he could do next.

He sat there for a moment with his own body practically slung over his friends before finally lifting his head once more. With his head much closer to Tsukishima’s, Yamaguchi was able to discern a distressing feature new to his friend’s appearance: a large jagged tear deep in Tsukishima's forehead, stretching from a few centimeters above his hairline down to just above his right eyebrow. The cut itself separated two flaps of skin by about a centimeter and the surrounding area had turned a sickly shade of red and purple, upsetting Yamaguchi even further. Blood had had already begun to coagulate in the wound, meaning that it had largely stopped bleeding out, and since this side of his head was facing upward, it was already relatively clean due to the rain, although a lock of his hair lay entangled in the bloody mess. Yamaguchi shakily touched the wound and noticed it was hardening, causing him to breathe a sigh of relief. _It’s already starting to heal..._ Yamaguchi thought as a slight grin appeared. However, this state of reprieve immediately rescinded into a state of distress as he realized that although this wound may be clean and healing, any others he may have are likely not following suit.

The tall blonde remained on his stomach, glasses gone, as the rain smeared blood across his forehead and into his hairline from the gash that painted his skin red and purple. His left leg that was poking out of the mud had multiple broken bones and fragments of glass slicing into it, all of which were different sizes. The shards of glass puncturing inside the open wounds, going from mid thigh to calf, with his sock showing that his shoe was missing. His sock itself lay plastered to his foot with deep crimson soaking the material.

Finally after what seemed to be the 20th time calling out his name, Tsukishima’s golden eyes lazily opened, eyelids fluttering in and out as he tried to slightly lift his head to look up towards where the noise was coming from.The figure was blurry and without his glasses he had no idea who it could be but, if he had to guess solely on sound, he knew the voice particularly well because this said voice talked to him non-stop almost everyday. The fact that the voice also used Tsukishima’s nickname also confirmed his supposition; _It has to be Yamaguchi,_ he thought. Even in the haze of half-consciousness, Tsukishima felt the deep ache radiating from his head. The throbbing was insistent, taking priority over the person beside him, even over his surroundings. Groaning, he struggled to shift into a sitting position, but failed in doing so as an oddly heavy weight was felt holding down his lower half. “Fuck!” The pain, from his leg this time, yanked at him, drowning him in it.

Sharp, intense agony bowled him over, forcing his head to crash back down into the mud that accumulated under him, where it rested previously. He struggled to focus on anything else, but the suffering that he was enduring at this moment in life was just too much. The voice next to him gradually grew louder, so loud that it meshed with the ringing that his ears were producing. _God shut up!_ _The pain, fuck, why is there so much pain?_ Tsukishima questioned as he took deep breathes in and out. Unfortunately, his friend next to him kept chatting away, oblivious to the pain it caused him, eventually causing the blonde to feel a nerve pop in his forehead as he snapped at a combination of Yamaguchi and the continuous ringing sensation that blared in his mind. “Shut up! Shut… Shut the fuck up! It’s too loud!” he shouted, cupping his hands over his ears and scrunching up his face to close his eyes even tighter as he began to softly groan. Yamaguchi froze in place and in mid-sentence , feeling goosebumps erupt all over his body as he felt a stinging pain in his chest, hurt from Tsukishima's sudden outburst and rage.

“Sorry Tsukki…” he quietly whispered as he turned his head away and stared down at his leg, watching the now droplets of rain in the sky fall upon his wounds stinging him slightly with each occurrence. As he waited for his friend to relax, he began to feel his injuries once more, his mind now no longer completely focused on Tsukishima and his body’s adrenaline rapidly draining away. Yamaguchi closed his eyes as a tear streaked slowly down his face, masked by the rain.

Overcoming the blinding agony he felt simultaneously surging through his leg and his forehead, Tsukishima reverted back to simply trying to clear his mind and focus more on what exactly was calling out his name. He lifted his head toward the direction of the disembodied voice and opened his eyes slowly, though his vision hardly improved from when his eyes were shut as all he saw was blurry darkness. Though he knew the voice belonged to Yamaguchi, Tsukishima still tried to get a closer look by squinting his eyes and leaning forward ever so slightly, alas with no significant improvements. His vision allowed him to discern a large grey blob near a tall black line, the latter of which he supposed was a tree, surrounded by even blacker darkness, causing the teen to just get pissed off even more than before.

Yamaguchi opened his eyes now that Tsukishima’s groans had subsided and glanced over to find his friend leaning toward him. “Tsukki! What hurts?” Yamaguchi blurted out frantically as he snapped his head toward Tsukishima, eyes wide and filled with worry, and tried to scoot off his back that he was partially laying on thinking that maybe he was causing more pain. The desperate panicked state that gripped Yamaguchi from before slowly started easing up as he just breathed out a sigh of relief. Though he remained concerned for his friends health, seeing Tsukishima start to act a little more normal and not enraged eased his mind a tad. Before, he was alone, and even though Tsukishima remained near him the whole time, he was unconscious. Just the thought of having someone to talk to now, even if said person was just yelling at him, caused the crushing despair that Yamaguchi felt to slide off his shoulders. Concerned that he still hasn’t gotten an answer back from his friend, he began to reiterate his previous concern, “Tsukki, are you alr-”. Yamaguchi wiped rain, and a few tears, from his face with the one sleeve of his jacket that was still intact as he spoke, but was immediately cut off by Tsukishima’s sudden outburst.

“The fuck! Where the fuck am I?” Tsukishima cursed at Yamaguchi as the freckled boy just stared, slightly startled by the sudden outburst. “What happened?! God damn my... head hurts!” he said through a series of strained grunts. “Why do I have this intense migraine and... the hell?! What the the fuck is wrong with my leg?!” Tsukishima exploded, question after question, some parts not even in full coherent sentences as Yamaguchi tried to take it all in at once, slightly surprised by the amount of curse words Tsukishima fit into one sentence.

Yamaguchi sat in bewildered silence, not exactly knowing what one should do in this situation, he decided on just trying to take one question at a time. First, he decided to address the question of where everyone was located “Well” Yamaguchi calmly started as Tsukishima tried to prop up on his elbows and listen, pain making him cringe. “We are on a mountainside after our bus crashed. Do you remember anything about the bus crash?” he questioned as Tsukishima looked to go deep in thought, turning his head to look down at the ground.

“Bus crash? All I remember is putting on my headphones to listen to my music and you falling asleep the second we sat down. Next thing I know I wake up in this pile of shit and feeling like someone shot me in the goddamn head!” Tsukishima exclaimed, pounding a fist into the mud which splashed a bit in his face, irritating him more. Though he gave off this extreme aura of anger, he still looked contemplative, as if he was trying to recall broken fragments of his own memory.

“That’s probably because of that nasty looking…” Yamaguchi paused, struggling to even look at the wound cutting down from Tsukishima’s hairline for too long without feeling sick. He pointed to his own forehead in demonstration, though futile with Tsukishima’s lack of vision. “...gash in your… head….” Yamaguchi finished, averting his eyes by looking back down at the ground. Once he mentioned the wound, Tsukishima started to specifically feel it in his head, now mentally separating it from the rest of the pain he felt. Shakily, he lifted his hand up to feel the area only for him to quickly recoil as he breathed in sharply through his now clenched teeth. “Also, your leg looks… wrong. I think it’s probably broken…” Yamaguchi stated as he stared at Tsukishima’s twisted appendage buried partly in the mud, grimacing from its grisly appearance. Almost as if he was in a trance, Yamaguchi silently stared at the contorted limb for a moment before breaking the spell, shaking his head slightly and looking back at Tsukishima’s face. “Honestly, i’m just glad you’re alright Tsukki...I thought you were going to die…”

“I think ‘alright’ may be a bit of a stretch, but I’m sure as hell not dead,” Tsukishima snarkily replied as he tried to push himself up out of the mud heap with his elbows, to no avail. Simply attempting to adjust his position sent a shot of pure agony that emanated from his side that had the broken leg. He lay back down on his forearms, shook his head, and continued, “At least not yet, anyway. What about you, what’s your damage?” Tsukishima asked quickly, catching the somewhat trembling Yamaguchi off guard, who was currently plagued with thoughts of what may have happened if he had not found Tsukishima, or if he found him in a much more terminal state.

A silence fell between the two teammates until Yamaguchi realized that his friend had stopped talking. Assuming Tsukishima asked a question or said something that required some sort of response, Yamaguchi stammered, “Huh? Sorry, I…. Sorry. What did you say?”

“I said,” Tsukishima started once again before exhaling slowly, “What about you? I doubt you came away unscathed and as you may be aware,” he added as he pointed directly at his own face, “I cannot see for myself, so...”

As Tsukishima trailed off, Yamaguchi swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down at his side before slowly responding. “My right side is all cut up and my leg feels like it’s been completely shattered,” he answered staring down at his mud-covered leg that still had bits of his shredded track pants attached to it. Some of the gashes that had stopped bleeding when he awoke had reopened after all the effort he put in to reach Tsukishima, causing a mixture of blood and mud to spread all along his leg and thigh, contaminating a majority of the cuts. “I woke up over there a few minutes ago,” he began to elaborate, “And I honestly don’t know how I even managed to crawl over here with it like this; it doesn’t feel like I should move it a single centimeter more.” He looked back up but focused his gaze on Tsukishima’s twisted leg once more, “It probably wasn’t the best decision I could have made but…” He paused again, not because he did not know what to say, but because his adrenaline had almost completely diminished by this point and all of his wounds started to flare up again. Repressing every urge he had to curl back into a ball and weep, he finished his thought, “I don’t know… It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”

Tsukishima had an urge to admonish his friend for causing himself pain by crawling through the mud when in Tsukishima’s mind, it would have been easier to just wait. However, he knew that Yamaguchi went through all of that in an attempt to save him and he also did appreciate the company, so Tsukishima decided against the scolding. He frowned and answered in a very serious tone, “Don’t over do it. If you don’t feel like you should move again, then stay put,” he ordered, glaring toward the dark blob that carried his friend’s voice. Yamaguchi silently nodded in response once more, and looked down at his injured leg. “Well?” Tsukishima loudly articulated, still waiting for a response from his friend.

“R-Right. I won’t,” Yamaguchi replied. In the moments that followed his response, the two did not speak a word to each other and instead just sat in silence. Though the words were not explicitly verbalized, the two boys were thanking each other, both admitting to themselves that this ordeal would be basically unbearable if they were each completely alone. The solitude was a terrifying prospect, and not a situation either one wanted to experience.

Eventually, Tsukishima spoke up once more, “Well, what are we going to do now? Uhhh… You... don’t happen to have your phone on you, do you?” he asked, trying to think of anything that could help their situation or at least something productive that could be done. Tsukishima had left his own phone tucked deep into the pocket of his gym bag, which was likely still on or near the bus, and simply hoped that Yamaguchi had not done the same.

“No, I had it on the bus but I can’t find it anywhere,” Yamaguchi answered tiredly as he slumped his head over, almost in shame, and twiddled his thumbs, “Though I haven’t actually been specifically looking for it. I could try to search for it b...”

“No, no,” Tsukishima interrupted, “You won’t find it in this mess.” He picked up a clump of mud with his hand and let is fall out between his fingers, demonstrating the futility of such a proposal. As he wiped the remaining specks of dirt and mud of his hand with his sleeve, he continued, “Even if you did find it, it wouldn’t work.” Both boys sighed simultaneously, defeated by their own combined uselessness. By themselves, they could not do anything but sit and wait for something to happen around them, that or just constantly scream for help. “Well I guess we could…” Tsukishima started but paused when he heard some noise like sloshing of mud a few yards away. He pointed in the noises direction but Yamaguchi had heard it too and turned to try to locate the sound himself.

"You guys okay...?" a voice softly rang out in the darkness in front of them, hoarse and weak, followed by a slight cough. From around a tree a few meters away from the two sitting boys, someone stepped forward, dragging their feet through the mud and keeping one hand on the tree as support. The person stepped slowly and with a slight hitch in their step, hobbling with their right knee bent so to not put much weight on that leg when moving. The person stopped and slumped their shoulder roughly against the tree, now using that hand to grip their opposite, which hung motionless and limp. "Glad to see someone else made it through that hell," he continued, now leaning against the tree with almost all of his weight, causing his shoulder to slide down it a little. He was now close enough that Yamaguchi, still lying ground with Tsukishima, could identify him as their teammate, and friend, Ennoshita.

"Ennoshita!" Yamaguchi exclaimed, surprised to find yet another survivor of the crash, yet happy to find another living soul, this one in comparably better shape than Tsukishima and himself, given the fact that he could at least stand and move around on his feet. Knowing his friend could not see Ennoshita, he turned to Tsukishima and put his hand on his shoulder, "Hey Tsukki, it's Ennoshita!” he eagerly and loudly declared as Tsukishima winced, recoiled away from him and rubbed his ear softly with his hand.

“Yes, I know it’s him, Yamaguchi,” he replied as he secretly rolled his eyes underneath his closed eyelids, “You practically just yelled that in my ear.” The ringing in his ears had subsided to a tolerable level but now it had returned and with it another throbbing headache. Yamaguchi sorrowfully hung his head and apologized as Tsukishima silently held a clenched fist to his forehead and looked down, not giving a response.

Yamaguchi looked back up at Ennoshita who had approached the two and crouched down, “Anyway, I’m so glad you’re alive. Are you hurt at all?" Yamaguchi continued, now talking much calmer and softer as to not irritate Tsukishima further, who still had not looked back toward them.

Ennoshita continued to hold his forearm while crouching by Yamaguchi and, even though he was slightly limping earlier, he seemed stable on his feet. “Yeah, i’m fine enough. I woke up with my wrist like…” Ennoshita trailed off lifting his limp right arm by supporting it with his left and showed it to Yamaguchi. His hand itself seemed to be relatively fine at first glance, albeit a little dirty and with a small scrape on the back between his ring and middle finger. However, upon further inspection, Yamaguchi noticed that Ennoshita’s hand seemed to hang from his arm lifelessly. Between his arm and his smallest finger, there was a small bulge surrounded by skin that had turned a dark shade of purple, which is why it was difficult to see at first, as well as an equally-sized depression between his arm and his thumb. Furthermore Yamaguchi had thought that Ennoshita was curving his fingers but when he noticed that his middle finger and ring finger were completely straight, the realization dawned upon him that the remaining fingers were not bent, but broken. Although not bleeding from cuts like Yamaguchi’s fingers, the freckled teen’s jaw dropped faintly as Ennoshita explained further, “Yeah, I think it’s probably broken. It hurt a lot when I woke up but now I can hardly even feel anything, unless I move it.” He pulled his arm back down slowly, trying his best not to move his broken wrist.

Yamaguchi was understandably concerned, “That looks pretty bad, are you sure you’re fine!?” To the side of him, he heard a groan come from Tsukishima, and realized he had increased in volume again when replying to Ennoshita. “Sorry, Tsukki…” he whispered.

“No, it’s fine, i’ll live” Ennoshita started quickly glancing towards Tsukishima as well, “Other than that, my one leg is a little sore and i’ve got a few scrapes here and there but i’m fine,” He said, looking towards Yamaguchi now, trying to calm the worried boy with reassuring words. “Can you stand? You guys don’t look so good. Yamaguchi, those cuts look pretty deep...” Ennoshita stared down at Yamaguchi’s leg, grimacing a little, but maintaining a solid composure while viewing the grisly slices that decorated his body.

"I-I just…” Yamaguchi stuttered, his throat tightening as his chin began to tremble, which caused his teeth to chatter slightly. He turned away from Ennoshita and buried his forehead into Tsukishima’s jacket, tears now spilling out out from his eyes down his cheeks. He had attempted to stay strong when it was only Tsukishima with him but now that he had further support, the levees had finally gave way to the raging torrent of emotions. In between sobs and breaths of air, he transferred his raw emotions into barely coherent words for all to hear, not even directly speaking to Ennoshita. “I... don't know what's going on! We were driving... and then something hit us and we were going down the mountain and I woke up here and… and… and Tsukki… Tsukki was here and his leg and..." he trailed off, weeping openly and loudly, overwhelmed by the circumstances as well as the pain he felt, which until now his mind had rejected in order to focus on saving his best friend. “One minute we were all just… the bus… and now...and now...” Words had completely devolved into incomprehensible ramblings, though he still seemed to be slobbering out what he believed to be words.

“Yamaguchi…I-” Ennoshita started, now sitting on his knees in the mud next to Yamaguchi. He placed his good hand softly on the back of the crying boy, trying to find the correct words or even some vaguely correct idea to say or explain, but his mind remained blank.

Tsukishima had allowed Yamaguchi to sob into his back with no second thoughts, sitting there quietly as his friend rambled. He was crying loudly, and very close to Tsukishima, which had reinitiated the ringing from before. However, he refused to be the one to put a dam in the way of the river, instead allowing the water to flow out and alleviate the abundance of stress that had built up dramatically over the short while they were together. When Ennoshita had tried to console him, Tsukishima interjected, “No. Just let him go; let him cry,” He said, staring at Ennoshita with a stern look on his face. Tsukishima had known Yamaguchi the longest, far more than anyone else in Karasuno, and thus understood the situation completely, “He needs this right now, just let him have it.”

They were all lost and broken in this blackened void, and Yamaguchi was expelling the emotions and feelings they were all experiencing but were hesitant to articulate in such an unpolished, yet brutally honest, way. In some respect, this overflowing sorrow Yamaguchi was letting out was relieving; not just to himself, but also to his comrades, who needed this empathetic proxy to push forward. Tsukishima and Ennoshita nodded in agreement, both silently understanding this concept, and allowed their friend to bawl unhindered for a time, consoling him by saying nothing. Ennoshita left his hand on Yamaguchi and rubbed circles lightly into his back, showing a modest amount of sympathy as he awaited for the sobbing to subside.

After about five minutes, Yamaguchi had relaxed enough to express his thoughts understandably to his friends. Genuinely, with no reservations, he simply said to them, “Thanks, guys.”

Now that Yamaguchi’s momentary meltdown had dwindled down, Tsukishima spoke up once more. ”Ennoshita, have yo-?” he began to ask before being interrupted.

“Hold on” Ennoshita said, standing up and stepping toward Tsukishima, “We should get you out of that mess first.” Tsukishima had nearly forgotten that he was still half-covered in mud and had strangely gotten used to laying down on the ground that he did not even think about standing up. The blonde nodded affirmatively and waited for Ennoshita to walk around and situate himself on the side of Tsukishima opposite of where Yamaguchi, who by now had lifted his head and painfully slided back a bit, was laying down. Ennoshita could obviously tell just by looking at him that Yamaguchi was in no way ready to even attempt getting up, but Tsukishima seemed more ready and able to complete the task. As Ennoshita crouched, he questioned, “Have you tried moving or standing yet?”

“I tried to earlier,” Tsukishima explained, “But my leg stung like hell, pretty sure it's broken.” Ennoshita looked at the twisted leg Tsukishima was talking about sticking out of the mud and came to the same conclusion. Tsukishima wordlessly bent his elbows out away from himself, as if inviting Ennoshita to lift him up, “If you get me up, I should be able to stand,” He stated, confident of his own strength and will to overcome the pain.

Ennoshita exhaled deeply and cupped his hands underneath Tsukishima’s arms, “Right then. Careful now…” he said as he stepped up the hill slowly to first slide Tsukishima out of his mud pile on his stomach, which was not a difficult task, but is hard to accomplish by yourself on a muddy mountainside. Rain continued to fall on the two boys as they proceeded through this task, making it difficult for Ennoshita to grab hold of Tsukishima, but also at the same time making the slide through the saturated sludge and soil a much simpler task to overcome. However, Tsukishima still felt some resistance on his broken leg and blood-soaked foot, fostering an uneasy, shaky feeling that permeated through his whole body as well as causing him to tightly clench his teeth. Ennoshita knelt down lower and slung Tsukishima’s arm over his shoulders, “Okay, we’re going up now, just put all of your weight on me and we’ll get you on your feet… or, foot, rather.”

“...Sure,” Tsukishima grumbled, steeling himself for the inevitable pain to come. Ennoshita started to rise with his knees as Tsukishima followed his directions, keeping all of his weight on the side with his one functional leg and Ennoshita. Biting back a scream, Tsukishima managed to only let out a muffled groan as he was lifted up since Ennoshita successfully kept a majority of Tsukishima’s weight off of his damaged side despite the obvious height difference between the two boys.

Unfortunately, Ennoshita misjudged his own strength and realized that he would not be able to keep this up for long and so suggested an alternative before his knees buckled in and gave way. “Over there,” he grunted, nodding his head downhill a few meters, “There’s a tree over there we can rest you against.” Without even waiting for Tsukishima’s approval, he started moving toward the tree in question with the near-blind blonde hobbling along with his left knee bent so to not allow that foot to touch the ground. The two carefully made it down the slope and situated Tsukishima so that his back was against the bark of the tree and he was facing back up the hill toward Yamaguchi, though he would not be able to distinguish Yamaguchi with his lack of eyesight.

Once situated, Tsukishima took a few breaths of air to collect himself, still not used to the sudden positional change from lying down to standing straight. Likewise, Ennoshita bent over and put his good hand on his knee, surprised by how quickly exhausted he became from such a simple task. “Anyway, as I was saying,” Tsukishima said, resting his head back against a tree and letting the rain fall upon his face and wash off the mud, “Have you found anyone else before us?” Yamaguchi, who was watching them through their struggle, perked up at the question, curious as well about the state of the rest of the team and if Ennoshita had any information on the matter.

“No, unfortunately,” he admitted, sadness strongly evident in his tone as he gripped his right arm again, “I woke up and started heading down there a little bit ago until I heard a scream over here. It’s hard to hear anything out here in this rain though, so it took a while for me to find where you guys were.” Ennoshita knelt down and looked at Tsukishima’s leg, trying to asses the damage, determining whether it was wise for him to move further now that his wounds were not covered in mud. “This looks bad, a few of these cuts are probably going to be infected if we don’t find help soon,” He paused, moving his head closer to the foot covered with a blood-stained sock, “That’s definitely broken... but no bones are coming out, which is good, I guess.”

“How would you know any of that, you’re not…” Tsukishima replied, slightly annoyed, but stopped mid-sentence. A majority of what Ennoshita said regarding the injuries made sense and were probably accurate so Tsukishima did not really care how he knew so much about diagnosing injuries. “Nevermind. You said ‘out here’. What do you mean ‘here’? Where is ‘here’?” drilled Tsukishima, who still did not have a complete memory of the crash itself, “Do you know where the others could be?”

“Probably down…” Ennoshita stopped and shrugged, “...Whatever mountain this is, that way.” he guessed, pointing down the trail of broken trees and mud with his good hand. Ennoshita was also asleep when the crash began, and was across the aisle from Yamaguchi and Tsukishima originally, so his memory of the incident was not much better, “I mean I remember getting into the bus and taking off down a bunch of back roads somewhere in the mountains.” He stopped and walked up the slope a few steps, trying to clear his head and stretch out his leg muscles that were still a little sore. He looked down at the ground and closed his eyes trying to think of anything useful that he could remember. After a few seconds of silence and no revelations, he opened his eyes back up and continued, “Hell, I don’t even know if we slid off the road or if something hit us or… or anything.” Ennoshita said as both Yamaguchi and Tsukishima watched him wrack his brain for answers.

Shyly, Yamaguchi raised his hand, as if in class, and added, “But...I heard a horn. I know I did. Something had to of hit us.” Yamaguchi stated, not even questioning that something else could have happened. He seemed so certain in his response that the others believed him and all three together, yet independently, stared up the slope toward the road.

“Wait,” Tsukishima interjected, still staring up the mountain at the road, now having lost track of where both Yamaguchi and Ennoshita were, “Ennoshita, you don’t have your phone do you?”

Ennoshita sighed and walked over to Yamaguchi while answering Tsukishima’s question, “Well, yes, I have it, but it was in my pocket when everything happened.” He tilted over slightly and handed Yamaguchi his smartphone, which was now bent at a 70 degree angle, “It’s completely totaled.” Yamaguchi sadly cradled the phone in his hands like it was a dead bird, watching the sparse raindrops bounce and scatter off the screen.

Tsukishima answered unfazed, “I figured that might be the case. Actually, I’m surprised you even had it,” he calmly admitted, adjusting himself so that leaning against his tree did not cause strain. “Neither of us have ours. However, I was thinking that if we _did_ hit somebody or somebody _did_ hit us, then they probably have a phone, then w…”

“Then we can call the police and get help!” Yamaguchi excitedly responded, connecting the dots in his mind. Tsukishima stopped his explanation and just nodded.

Ennoshita chimed in enthusiastically “Hey! That’s a good idea, guys!” He turned and took a few steps up the hill ready to go hunting for a working phone and a solution out of this hell. “Oh wait,” he said, his mind dawning upon the logistics of the situation, “If there is another car... since our bus went down this hill, their car probably went the other way and should still be up there!”

“My thoughts exactly” Tsukishima replied. “Whatever hit us should still be on the road.”

“Well, neither of you are in any shape to be trekking up that hill, at least not yet,” Ennoshita pointed out to his teammates that can hardly move their legs. “I’ll go up there first and see what I can find. That should give you guys some more time to recover so that when I come back down to find you, we can go back up to the road together.”

“Sounds like a plan to me” Yamaguchi said, groaning slightly as he adjusted himself to lay his back on the cold wet ground. “We’ll be fine for a while, just don’t forget about us” Yamaguchi responded. Ennoshita nodded and shot a wide smile toward his younger teammate before turning toward the road in search of some clarification as to what exactly happened this night.

Ennoshita trudged up the wet hilly mountainside through the rain that, even though it had died down considerably, still put up a fight against the determined second-year. Walking up a muddy slope was a lot more difficult than it looked as Ennoshita’s feet sank deep into mud with every endeavor. Eventually he reached the treeline next to the road and noticed the guardrail was twisted and distorted as if it were in a Salvador Dali painting, bent around the rear of a large vehicle that had a shattered taillight casting bright red light into the abyss of night. As he reached the pavement, he found that the large vehicle was actually the trailer for a semi-truck flipped on its side and strewn across the entire width of the road diagonally. The front of the semi-truck sat wedged in a drainage ditch on the other side of the road from where Ennoshita was standing, dim headlights illuminating the surrounding area. On one hand, Ennoshita was pleased, excited that Yamaguchi’s memory was accurate as he thought, _He was right; the horn must have came from this thing._ On the other hand, he feared for the state of the driver of said vehicle, since the truck’s engine was still running and all the lights were on. He thought as he made his way toward the broken semi slightly limping looking both directions up and down the street, yet not seeing a soul in sight.

“Hey! Is anyone out there?” Ennoshita yelled out into the rain. He tried again, somewhat limping closer to the vehicle, yet still he received no response. Eventually he reached the passenger door and was about to reach up and open it to look inside when he stopped. To his left, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of legs in front of the truck, lit up by the headlights. Slowly, Ennoshita stepped closer to the front of the truck, stepping on shards of broken glass from the windshield. He called out again, but the legs still did not move, and Ennoshita dreaded turning the corner to see the full picture, fully knowing what he would find.

On the ground, laying face-up, lay the body of an an elderly man, covered in blood, with a face frozen in fear. He was a short, plump man with a small grey beard and short hair to match, wearing a red plaid shirt and ripped blue jeans. Glass surrounded the man’s body and many large shards punctured the man himself, including two significant pieces each about the size of a chef’s knife, one in the side of his neck and the other sticking straight up out of his skull above his left eye. Blood trickled down from these and other glass puncture wounds in the man’s face down to the ground, staining the grass and pooling with the water in the drainage ditch. Furthermore, the man seemed to suffer not only from smashing through the windshield, but also when landing, as his left arm snapped in such a way that his hand was almost touching his elbow, the cracked bones rupturing through his skin like it was rubber. Ennoshita turned and heaved at this dismal sight, but did not throw up, managing still to subdue his gag reflex.

Ennoshita concluded easily that the old man was dead and knew it was trivial to even check for his pulse. It felt wrong, but Ennoshita knew that he had to look for a phone, which meant searching the corpse. The smell as he approached the man stung his nose, and it was then he realized that he smelled not only blood and gasoline, but also of alcohol, which arguably was the strongest of the three. He scowled at the man, pity turning to pure hatred as he realized that the weather was not to blame for this tragedy; it was this man. He felt angry, yet at the same time somewhat awkward, looking through his pockets to find a phone but came up empty. Resisting the urge to stomp on the man’s body for good measure, he decided to move over to look inside the broken semi. He opened the somewhat rusty-looking passenger door of the Semi, only for his suspicions to be correct as about a dozen of beer and liquor cans fell out from the floor and shattered on the ground. There had to be a least 4 different cans of beer wedged between the car door and the seat itself. The car smelled extremely like alcohol and mold, the driver had to be intoxicated while driving that much was a fact now. Ennoshita tried to hold his breath as he searched with his good hand through the wreckage. Finally after rummaging through countless cans, wet papers, and various other pieces of junk, he spotted a small black cellphone on the ground of the driver’s seat, sitting in a shallow pool of beer. Crawling over the passenger seat and reaching his arm out, he grabbed the phone and brought it closer. Shaking from the cold rain, he flipped open the phone and dialed the cops. A moment of silence that felt like hours passed until finally the call connected and an operator answered the other side.

“Police, what’s your emergency?” A woman said on the other end of the line.

“Hello my name is Chikara Ennoshita” Ennoshita said trying his best to keep it together as he took a deep breath and continued. “We-We need help! Our bus got in a horrible accident and…” he trailed off as he thought about his friends for a moment, “...And we’re badly hurt! I-I can’t move them on my own!” He finished taking in a deep breath again and holding the phone as close to his ear as he possible, waiting for a response, any response.

“Calm down sir, help is being dispatched now. Do you know where you are?” The lady on the other end of the call responded directly.

“I-I…” Ennoshita stopped, trying to think of where he actually was, “I’m not sure.” He promised Tsukishima and Yamaguchi that he would get help but he had no idea how to explain his location accurately. “No...We, uhh” he started before clearing his throat and starting again, “We are somewhere in the mountains. We… We were coming from the Sendai gymnasium, but now we...” Ennoshita addressed, stopping his train of thought to think. _Shit, how do I describe where we are exactly?_

The lady on the phone, typed something out and ‘hmmhm’ every now and then followed by a little crackle on the phone. “Are there any landmarks in your general area that you could identify, sir?” She asked. By this point in time Ennoshita had no clue what to say and crawled out of the car trying to see if there were any signs or anything specific around him. He limped back toward the guardrail, phone close to his chest as he told the police officer that he was going to go see if his friends knew any information that he forgot. The woman on the other side responded “O...ir we’ll t… track your loc… stay on the l…”

He managed to understand the broken speech and replied, “Okay, i’ll stay on the line! If you can find us, there’s a big semi in the road, you can’t miss it...” As he was finishing his thought, Ennoshita felt his foot slide out from under him and he almost slipped, forgetting the muddy incline momentarily in his nervousness, but managed to catch himself with a nearby branch. Thankfully, he managed to keep the phone in his hand as he grabbed the wet branch and did not drop it.

Treading more carefully, he hiked down the incline until he was far enough down and started calling out their names loudly. Hearing a response to his left, he following the calls and discovered the pair right where he left them. Tsukishima had moved to a different tree for support and was holding a long stick like a cane, apparently practicing moving with his new limp, but was still right near Yamaguchi. “Guys, I found a phone, the cops are trying to track us now!” Ennoshita happily announced making Yamaguchi smile brightly and Tsukishima pant out a breath of relief. “Do you have any idea what road we were taking or did you see anything on the way here, any landmarks?” Yamaguchi and Tsukishima both shook their head, not having any helpful information to share.

“OH! Ahh wait, hello? Hello?” Ennoshita screamed into the phone, bringing it back up to his ear. His heart pounded loudly in his chest as he realized that in his haste, he mentioned Sendai but not Karasuno, their destination. His calls for a response seemed meaningless as Ennoshita heard nothing but silence from the other end of the phone. “Hello? Hello?! Karasuno! We were going to Karasuno!” He screamed, now holding the phone away from his cheek and directly in front of his mouth. As he did this, he saw that the screen that previously was lit now remained as black as the night around them. It was blank and lifeless.

“No…” the second year breathed out just loud enough that the two first years looked up concerned. “She was right here on the phone…No…. No, no, NO!!” Ennoshita yelled at the device, trying in vain to turn it back on while engulfed in a state of shock and fear. He tried every common convention to turn electronic devices and phones in general on, but to no avail; he even tried banging on the side of it in frustration.

Tsukishima watched his elder with concern until brute force was applied, which prompted him to interject, “Here, give it here.” Ennoshita was far too panicked to even question this and rushed over to Tsukishima to hand it over. He dried the phone of the rain and mud from Ennoshita’s hands using the inside of his jacket and proceeded to inspect the device, holding it incredibly close to his face. Eventually, he let out a dejected sigh and opened the back cover to look at the battery. Tsukishima closed his eyes and shook his head slightly before dropping the phone at his feet, “It’s dead, whole phone is fried. Damn thing got too wet. Did you drop it in a puddle or something?”

“No, I…” Ennoshita cried out and fell to his knees before Tsukishima, grasping at the halves of the phone and weakly pushing them back together. Both first years watched Ennoshita continue to try to turn the phone on in vain. “That asshole had all this fucking beer in his truck and it soaked the phone! I thought it was fine! It cut out a bit, but it was working fine!” he shouted to nobody in particular, trying desperately to hold himself together, but the anger he felt and the horror that edged at the back of his mind of help never arriving pushed it's way through.

Yamaguchi tried to explain to the hysterical boy, “It might have been working for a while, but what do you expect with an old phone like that in these situations?” He held a hand up flat, demonstrating the falling rain, which had diminished, but was still significant enough to push a wet phone over the edge. “You said they were tracking it, let's hope that they managed to do that before you lost them,” he continued, attempting to console Ennoshita, who had been cool and composed about everything until now.

Ennoshita dropped the ruined phone pieces back onto the ground and punched the mud, buried his good hand into the mud. Breathing heavily, he stifled tears behind a brick wall as nodded his head and continued to stare down at the ground. “Yeah... yeah, you’re right. I’m sure they did that, i’m sure they did...” Ennoshita shakily replied, trying his best to regain his composure. He knew he needed to be strong and confident for the others; besides, he was able to reach an operator who did say she was tracking their position. He agreed with Yamaguchi and finally stood up after a few more moments in the mud.

“Okay well, if they’re coming, they’re going to need someone to direct them down the mountain and explain the situation better,” he said as he wiped the mud off his hand onto his track pants, “How do you two feel? Are you ready to move out?” Ennoshita stared at the two younger boys with glowing optimism, waiting for a favorable response. The sudden change in emotion took both Tsukishima and Yamaguchi by surprise, but they were pleased regardless and nodded their heads in confirmation. Ennoshita knew that both boys were not in the condition to really move but he had to at least try. He described to the two boys that he would take one up at a time to lessen the strain on them all. First he would help Tsukishima up the mountain and then he would come back down to get Yamaguchi. At first Yamaguchi was a little worried that he would be left alone again but he knew deep down that this was the best way, he could deal with being alone for a few more minutes because he knew that Ennoshita would come back down. "Yeah... that's fine" Yamaguchi replied as the second year walked over to Tsukishima and slung his arm over his shoulder and helped him up the mountain. The tall first year kept hold of his branch he found and used it as a cane, sticking it into the mud so to not slip. After a few hard minutes of getting up the slope, Ennoshita gently laid him with his back against a part of the guardrail that was still intact and left to go down and help Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi was a lot more difficult to get since he couldn't help out at all, claiming that it was harder to even feel his one side. Knowing that this was not a good sign, Ennoshita tried his best to help him as swiftly and efficiently as he could, grabbing under his armpits and helping him up. Yamaguchi took a little longer to get up the mountainside but eventually they did get up and Ennoshita moved him over towards where he placed Tsukishima. 

Once there, Ennoshita explained to the two first years that he'll turn back and search for the others. "I’m positive that if we turned out fine, they should be fine too,” Ennoshita stated as he turned back around and faced the Semi with a disapproving glare and then returned his gaze back to his friends and nodded, “Trust me.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH ROB FOR HELPING ME WRITE THIS CHAPTER!! YOU ARE THE BEST BOYFRIEND EVER!!!! :) :D 
> 
> I highly suggest the two links for music I put down in chapter 1 or 2. Pretty much any epic sad song. Also Narina works well with this too haha. This was a suppppppper long chapter. I'm not sure if you can access youtube links from here but if you can, you should look up these songs and listen to them while reading. 
> 
> *If you read this when It first came out I Updated it about a half hour after I posted it.*
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-ox7oYvBDM
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g7OUvGrRJI&index=3&list=RDG-ox7oYvBDM
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zVKUOsUgMQ&list=RDG-ox7oYvBDM&index=19
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJpRzOJicTE&list=RDBJpRzOJicTE
> 
> or any song from Audiomachine haha.

Chapter 5

Yachi wished that everyone would walk away from this crash alive like Ennoshita had promised to the other first-years, but as she sat on her knees in the massive amount of mud that surrounded this side of the bus, she contemplated the reality of the situation the team found themselves. For some, this would be their final ride with the team; for others, this would be their final ride period. Scattering these thoughts into the aether, she pulled as hard as she could muster, her hands wrapped around the arm of one of her teammates who lay face down in the ground before her.  Yachi pulled hard on her friend’s arm, which refused to budge at all, and her knees began to bury themselves in the mud as if she were in a vat of quicksand, pulling her down deeper with every motion.  The muscles in her arms began to weaken and she was losing the feeling in her fingers from a combination of the cold, her exhaustion, and her own emotional state. Tears rained from this girl’s eyes faster than the water from the sky above fell upon her body and she could do nothing but scream as she tried her hardest to save this boy. She hung her head between her arms, almost passing out from the sheer amount of effort she put into making her arms pull with sustained energy.

Around the side of the bus, two men, Ukai and Kinoshita, came running to her position, reacting to her screams and cries. Seeing them, she cocked her head back up and screeched at them so loud that she shut her eyes, “Help me, he’s dying!” Her voice cut out after that last word, but her mouth remained open as she sobbed immensely in front of them.

Kinoshita rushed down next to her and the object of her concern, getting a much better grasp of the actual situation. A boy wearing one of the Karasuno jackets lay face down before them, almost completely covered in mud to the point that it was a miracle Yachi found him at all. Furthermore, Kinoshita could not see this boy’s legs: he was pinned right below the waist to the ground by the bus itself. However, as Yachi pointed out, he was dying, and not dead, as his back rose and sank weakly with an alarming amount of time in between breaths.  Wiping mud off of the boy’s face, Kinoshita realized in horror that it belonged to his normally-jolly best friend, Narita. “No…” he said softly, carefully laying his head back down on the ground on its side. He dove down toward the bus and began frantically digging at the mud and dirt with his bare hands, as he yelled louder, “No, it’s fine! We’ll get you out of there Narita! Just hold on, I’m here!”

As Kinoshita fell down to help Yachi, Ukai moved over to the side of the bus, near the back wheel, and cautiously lay Hinata down with his back against the bus. He was careful not to cause further trauma to the boy’s already-damaged leg and whispered to the unconscious Hinata as he was placed down, “I’m going to save him too, don’t worry.”  Ukai then dashed over and slid on his knees quickly to the unconscious second-year as Kinoshita started to dig at the mud by Narita’s waist, in hope to somehow free the boy. Ukai noticed that Yachi was about to pass out herself from over-exhaustion and placed his hand on her shoulder, forcefully pushing her away from Narita and toward the direction of Hinata. “Stop! Go over there to Hinata and stay there,” he commanded, not having time to argue with the girl. In his eyes, she seemed healthy enough, at least relative to everyone else he’s encountered, but if she continued in this way, she could cause unintentional suffering to both herself and the pinned teen.

Yachi continued to weep, falling on her side from Ukai’s push and sat leaning against her arm for a moment before resigning and crawling on her hands and knees in the rain to Hinata’s unconscious body. She curled up into a ball and lay the side of her head on Hinata’s lap, covering both her ears with her hands trying not to hear nor see what she expected to be the death of Narita.  She did not know him very well, but unlike most of the others on the team that towered in height above her, she was never afraid of him and normally found security in his calm demeanor and honest face.

“Kinoshita, keep digging, we’ll get him out of here!” Ukai yelled to his student as he turned and cradled Narita’s head in his hands, which had one side washed clean from the rain. He maneuvered one hand to hold up Narita’s head and brought the other up to lightly tap the boy’s face as he spoke more calmly, “Hey! Hey, Narita, wake up!” he pleaded, trying to wake the boy up before attempting to move him. Ukai needed to know what the boy felt. If he felt the pain from the bus pushing down on him, then there might be a way to pull him out and save him; however if the pain was muted or he felt no pain at all, then there is nothing they could do except hope that paramedics find them in time and can cut him out of his unfortunate state. “Wake up, goddammit!” he shouted, concern mounting ever greater the longer Narita stayed unconscious. Ukai couldn’t handle another death after still being scarred from his previous encounter of Takeda and Kiyoko.

Kinoshita continued to claw at the ground, trying to dig his friend out of the mud that kept falling back into place with every scoop.  His frustration with this problem was completely eclipsed by his determination.  “He’ll be fine…” he huffed as he tried to move yet another fistful of mud and throw it away from them, “He’ll wake up... And he’ll be fine, I just know it…” He continued repeating this mantra to himself as he dug, his previous soreness and pain temporarily set aside by pure will.

Suddenly, Narita’s eyelids fluttered slowly and his lips parted, allowing the cold air of the night, as well as some rain, to enter in through his mouth.  He weakly opened his eyes so that just a sliver of his pupils could be seen and he stared blankly toward the front of the bus, his head still cradled in one of Ukai’s hands. Softly, he attempted to speak, confused about the smoking bus he saw before him, “Wha-...” This minor fragment of a word caused him to cough, sending a slight tremor throughout his body.

Ukai’s eyes lit up in excitement, “Narita! Kinoshita, he’s awake! Are you okay? How are you feeling?” Ukai frantically said, overjoyed at Narita’s newfound consciousness but still afraid of moving him yet.

“Huh…? I…” Narita said, not moving or even closing his mouth, which started to drool onto Ukai’s supporting hand.

Kinoshita stopped clawing at the mud, and crawled quickly over to Ukai, staying on the side that Narita faced. He laid down on his stomach in the mud so that his head was at about the same level as Narita so he could speak to him, “H-hey buddy, how’re you doing?” Kinoshita spoke to Narita with a great big smile on his face, trying to cheer up his friend, who was likely in a state of unimaginable misery.

Narita’s eyes seemed to grow a little as he saw Kinoshita and a crooked grin also formed in response. He took a few seconds to move his lips and open and close his mouth, as if practicing forming the words he wished to speak before saying them. “...Hey man…” He paused and sat there looking at Kinoshita for an unnaturally long amount of time.  He blinked a few times during the silence and Kinoshita’s facial expression transferred from one of excitement to one that began to reveal his true fears. Finally, Narita continued, “Mmmm… I’m uhm... I’m tired. Where are we?” he asked, angling his head up toward the canopy above, “It’s uhm…. it’ s cold.”

Kinoshita waited for his friend to slowly work out his words, then placed his hand lightly on Narita’s shoulder before answering, “Uhh… We-We’re outside…” He tried to think of what to say to someone in such a fragile state, mentally scratching his own head. He gulped as he prepared to lie to him, “The bus is uhhh… It's broken. Takeda-sensei is fixing it now, we should be leaving again soon, alright?”

Narita smiled, completely believing the lie he was just told, and closed his eyes as he nuzzled his head into Ukai’s hands, believing them to be a pillow, as the coach stared blankly at the young boy void of all emotions. “Mmm okay… Sounds good…” Narita said comfortably as Kinoshita quickly added, “W-Wait, hold on!” trying to keep his friend conscious. Kinoshita looked up at Ukai, scared and apprehensive, who gestured with his head toward Narita’s legs. Nodding, Kinoshita turned back to Narita with a serious look on his face, “Narita, can you do me a favor? Can you uhh.. Can you try to move your legs for me?” Kinoshita had tried to think of a creative way of asking this question without worrying Narita, including asking if he feels a fictional bug bite on his foot, but decided to be direct, as Narita may only have moments more of consciousness.

“Mmmmmm….” Narita groaned as he opened his eyes slowly once more. “Nah… Can’t feel ‘em…” he tried to explain, mumbling to the point of near incomprehensibility, “...Must… Must’ve slept weird…” After speaking, he closed his eyes once more, still grinning faintly.

Kinoshita’s heart sank, or more accurately, felt like it was shattered inside of his chest as Ukai and himself both realized the same thing: they could not help Narita.  Here the boy lay in front of them, breathing, talking and responding relatively normally to his questions, but they could do nothing to save him. Kinoshita brought his hand up to cover his own mouth as he started to cry, tears lightly streaming down his cheeks as he looked away from Ukai and Narita into the woods in the distance. The despair ate at him, useless to help or save one of his best friends. Breathing in, he felt the sickness slowly start to return, and tried his hardest to push everything down as he wiped his face with one of his sleeves. He started to speak again to Narita, his jaw now quivering, “H-Hey s-so uhhh… Just get some sleep, o-okay buddy?” His voice shaking. The most he could do was provide comfort. His body moved of its own volition, shuffling towards Ukai, his hands reaching out towards Narita. As he moved, he looked up at Ukai, who silently nodded and gestured with his shoulders for Kinoshita to take over. Kinoshita sat cross-legged and cupped Narita’s head in his own hands as Ukai backed away and moved over to Hinata and Yachi the former of whom was still curled up and crying softly. Once gone, Kinoshita slowly started to lower his hands to the ground so that they merely acted as a barrier between Narita’s head and the cold mud  in which it previously lay. “We’ll wake you up again when it's… when it’s time to go...” Kinoshita trailed off as his voice cracking, trying his best to not let Narita know he was sobbing, even though Narita probably would not even notice in his delirious state anyway.

“Mmmm… Okay… Goodnight...” Narita softly responded, letting the last syllable trail off into a light whimper. Kinoshita sat there holding Narita as his friend fell asleep and let himself start to lightly cry once more, feeling Narita’s breaths begin slow and diminish. He began to count the seconds between exhales feeling like nails were being driven into his heart every time the amount increased, praying that everything would be ok. Softly, Narita’s breathing disappeared and his back stopped moving as he passed away in Kinoshita’s hands. Nevertheless, he still retained the smile he left Kinoshita after he said his last goodnight.

Kinoshita kept his eyes closed tightly as all around him seemed to slow and become momentarily static. He could not hear the soft cries of the young manager nor could he hear or even feel the pellets of rain fall upon the scene around him. In this moment of frozen respite, Kinoshita imagined emerging from the wrecked bus and finding the entire team alive and waiting for him. Takeda and Narita were both there ready to greet him, smiling and overjoyed to see Kinoshita alive and well. It was a simple vision, and one that Kinoshita knew had to be false and would instantly disappear the second he opened his eyes. Knowing this, he shut his eyes even tighter, attempting to throw away the traitorous reality that clawed at both his heart and his mind. To his dismay, the stillness around him began to break down and his senses returned to him as his reverie faded into the night. Kinoshita reluctantly opened his eyes and looked down, seeing Narita’s still body in the mud before him.

A long silence engulfed the air after his vision ended and Kinoshita stared blankly at Narita with a stuffed nose and tears stinging his eyes. Seeing his friend in such a state, he wished it to be a lucid dream, he wished for reality to be a weak facade he could tear down himself. His body wished to lash out at something, anything, as his mind directed all his anger of what he witnessed to the Gods above. He carefully pulled his hands away from Narita, laying him down softly in the wet mud before rising to a kneeling position. His one hand lay on his lifted knee and the other hung motionless to his side, but both violently shook from his seething anger. He gradually stood, stumbling at first, and, with newfound strength born for his untamed rage, lunged at the bus and gave it the best kick he could muster as his screams of desperation washed over him, "GOD DAMMIT!!". Yachi flinched slightly from the loud metallic clang that resonated from the hull of the bus as she cracked open her eyes to glance over at Kinoshita. The boy was absolutely fuming as he leaned forward with both of his hands above his head against the bus. Tears slid down his face as he vigorously slammed his foot into the side of the bus over and over again.

“Come on, Move!” he screamed, voice cracking. He pulled his leg back and launched another kick as hard as he could, almost breaking two of his toes in the process and throwing off his unsteady footing, causing him to fall on his back in the process and into the mud. "AHHHH!" Ukai watched this unfold with his good eye sorrowfully, trying to formulate the right words to say. With nothing coming to mind, he instead averted his gaze, partially in shame of not knowing how to console Kinoshita, and looked at Yachi, who seemed horrified by everything that was going on around her. The amount of shock and fear present on her face was something that Ukai never wished to witness. Ukai thought about trying to help Kinoshita first, but thought twice about it as he knew that the kid needed to vent.

Kinoshita repositioned himself onto his knees and began to claw into the mud around Narita’s waist once more. No matter how much the second year dug, no progress was ever made as the wet mud would simply slide back down into whatever hole he dug. “Fucking rain!” Kinoshita gritted his teeth and cursed to himself.  He stopped digging for a moment and angrily watched as the mud seeped over his hands and covered them.  Enraged once more, he lifted one hand out of the mud and punched the broken bus with a tightly clenched fist. A jolt of stinging resonated through his forearm on contact, causing Kinoshita to swear loudly, “Fuck!”.

Finally it happened, his body just couldn’t take the abuse anymore as his ache in his stomach that he was attempting in vain to subdue previously rose to a point of inconceivable agony. He knew it was coming weather he wanted it to or not, so he turned away from Ukai and Narita and tried to prepare himself for the inevitable the best he could. He could feel the bile rising up as he tried his best to ignore or subdue the rumbling sensation that caused him so much pain but quickly withdrew that idea. He kept one hand on the cold, wet steel bus and gripped his stomach with the other. The feeling hit full force and, within seconds, he felt the bile slide up his throat and enter his mouth as he hunched over gagging, vomiting all over the dark mud. The pressure from such a violent hack caused the blood that he so desperately wished to hide to return to the surface once again making him horrified. _How could I still have more to throw up?_ He gasped for air, feeling that his stomach was obviously empty, yet more poured out from him yet again, hacks and gags from what seemed like something clogging his esophagus. The pain that accumulated inside him was unbearable as his throat burned with each second that passed.

Ukai had taken notice of Kinoshita once more upon hearing him hit the bus and watched him puke off to the side like he had before after he saw Takeda. Similarly, Ukai attributed this episode as a reaction to Narita’s death, though it seemed rather odd to him that he would throw up again so soon after the previous time, but he quickly discarded those thoughts. The second year gasped and panted, eyes watering from the sheer amount of pain that he felt all over. The soreness that his weak body felt caused his hand to slide all the way down the bus into the mud and to his knees to relinquish their support as he nearly tipped over into the puddle of blood and puke, just barely catching himself. Kinoshita mentally cringed at the sight below him, thankful for a moment that it was nighttime and not morning. He weakly crawled back over towards Narita’s head and cried once again.

Kinoshita sat next to his deceased friend, trembling to the bone in a confused state of fear and depression. Instinctively attempting to hide from the situation, he curled his legs up to his chest and buried his head in his knees, retreating into a ball and letting the tears roll down his face and onto his lap. As he wrapped his arms around his legs, he felt the denial of the situation at hand. Now, with more force than ever, the realization finally dawned on him that Narita wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, or ever again. The wall that Kinoshita had mentally built inside himself felt like it had one too many cracks, thus causing it to shatter completely as he took one last long look at his friend’s cold body in front of him. Desperate screams verified Coach Ukai and Yachi’s worst fears, that Narita was in fact dead. Though the two gathered this prior information, it finally seemed to sink in as the two looked devastated and beat.

In response, Yachi coiled tighter over Hinata, her wracking heaves shaking her body relentlessly, yet the boy himself seemed unfazed by the movement. The death their friend and teammate was unbearable as Kinoshita’s quivering lip and chattering teeth gave way and his mouth opened as layer after layer of devastated cries rang through the night, each one more intense than the last. Ukai mentally cringed thinking about the waste of such life potential, and immediately the memory of Takeda’s dead eyes flashed through his mind as he winced. Ukai stood, looking out at the scene that unfolded before his eye and in that moment, he wished more than anything that he could wake up from this nightmarish hell and start the trip all over again yet take a different route home. Next to him was Yachi, hands gripping one of Hinata’s pant legs as she wept, tremors plaguing her skin as her body shook uncontrollably. Ukai leaned down to console her, trying to calm her quaking nerves even though he himself was on the brink of crumbling, but stopped mid-process as he thought about just what he would say to her in this stage of panic. Hell, he himself didn’t even know what he would say to himself to calm his nerves. He was officially the oldest one alive now so his students should be able to count on him right?

Suddenly though his thought process was halted as the weeping next to him slowed down enough for the young girl to get out a few broken words. “...Is he really de-” Yachi hesitantly asked, trembling and looking up at Ukai with water-filled eyes, but stopped herself from finishing the question, dreading the answer despite already knowing full well that Narita was dead.

Ukai seemed to be on the same thought process as her as he just solemnly nodded in confirmation. “...Seems so…” he quietly answered back in a defeated tone.

Yachi knew from the screams of desperation that escaped from Kinoshita that Narita had died but this was a fact that she still refused to accept, denying reality alongside Kinoshita as she quivered, teeth chattering. “I...I just don’t understand…” She lingered, taking one of her hands and trying to wipe off the excessive amounts of tears that flowed from her eyes. “How could something like this happen to us?” she sniffled. Ukai stared at her as if waiting for Yachi to continue her speech but instead of hearing the soft whimper from before, her voice grew louder and angrier. “Today was supposed to be a good day!” She screamed out, turning towards Hinata’s face and sniffling. “We won all our matches...even against Aoba Josai! We were supposed to battle Shiratorizawa tomorrow, and hopefully beat them and rise to nationals! So why did all of this have to happen?” She stopped and took a breath as she glanced all around her, hearing the sounds of her intense breathing and Kinoshita’s constant hacks mixing with the rain. “Why is Hinata unconscious? And what happened to his leg?" Yachi questioned out but before Ukai could even think about answering her question she began rambling off multiple more. "Why is Narita dead? Why is Kinoshita sick? What's wrong with your eye? Why do you have to have a slash across it?” Why is any of this happening?! She rambled on, voice growing into a cressendo of horrified yells at no one in paticular. As she continuessly mentioned everyones name she also looked at each person as she said this and slowed her rambling voice down to a mere whimper. “It-It just dosen’t make any sense...today was supposed to be a good day…” she cried, glancing over towards Kinoshita and Narita and then back towards her coach, eyes not seeming to focus on anything for an extended period of time. “Why...why did this have to happen to us? Why...why did Narita have to… have to die!?” she finally finished, trying her best to enunciate every word as her cries crescendoed to incomprehensible sentences. “...Today was supposed to be a good day…”

“I...I” Ukai started but thought to himself before continuing his answer. _Shit what should I say? Yachi we tried everything we could to save him? Sometimes things like this happen and they can’t be explained? What is the right thing to say? What are the wrong things to say?_ Ukai expressed all these thoughts he wanted to explain but could not verbalize into words as he simply stared at Yachi for an uncomfortably long time. The girl now caught in a constant staring contest with her coach as Ukai shifted uncomfortably back on forth, and put his good arm up to the back of his head and scratched it.

“I what? You’re not saying anything coach?! Why did this have to happen to us?” Yachi stammered, starting to hyperventilate.

“Woah!” Ukai quickly took notice to the girl’s constant shortness of breath and excessive amounts of shaking in her hands. “H-hey, calm down Yachi! Calm down and listen to me…” He spluttered as the shaking girl tried her best to keep eye contact with him, failing miserably from the tears that seemed to block her sight, causing Ukai to put his mind into overdrive thinking of how he could best assist the girl. _Well damn... Now I have to say something... What should I say though? I don’t want to scare the poor girl anymore than she already is. She could faint on me... And that would not be good because I can only carry one person..._ The words that he wanted to say so badly say seemed to get lost in translation as he simply stared at Yachi for a while and asked himself these questions over and over again, even if her question wasn’t really a question one could answer until finally he came up with something worthwhile.

“I’ll be honest, Yachi: I don’t know. I’m sorry but... I don’t have the answer you want, or any, really.  Sometimes we just… Life is….” Ukai stumbled through his words, still trying to think of a way to calm down the girl. He sighed, and looked at her straight in the eye, “Nobody dies when they’re supposed to, particularly those we care for. Sometimes, it can be prevented and others,” Ukai paused and looked down, “We try our best, but sometimes we just need to be there for them as they go.” Yachi began to weep silently and Ukai halted his speech, thinking about the words he just said himself. “But we can’t just give up, we need to be there and help each other as best we can,” Ukai continued moving over to Yachi and placing his hand on her shoulder, “We’ll never forget him; as long as we’re alive, he’ll stay alive too. So we’ll just have to survive and make it home, yeah?” Ukai finished with the ghost of a grin forming on his face. There was never really a time in Ukai's life that he ever felt so completely empty inside, but he knew that he had to keep it together, he knew that he had to get these students to safety, no matter what it took, and that alone was enough of a drive for him.

After a few moments, Yachi’s crying diminished and she looked up at Ukai, “...Yeah… I guess.” She said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her palms, and shakily stood, leaning against the bus for some support. “...Thanks, coach.”

After the defeat and loss that just happened before his eyes, Kinoshita had finally found his voice again as his slow breathing started progressively cooling down and found its place back in its regular rhythm. Exhausted, and drained of nearly every possible thing in his body, the broken boy stood, staggering for a moment and dragged his way back over towards Hinata, Yachi, and Ukai, the latter of the three looked deeply concerned as Kinoshita lightly limped towards the coach and Ukai put a hand on Kinoshita’s shoulder with a look of intense sorrow.

“I’m so sorry Kinoshita” was all he muttered before the boy wiped his tears with one of his hands and his dead eyes glanced over to Yachi who was now standing looking down at Hinata who was leaning against the bus. 

“Yeah…” Kinoshita replied still gazing at Yachi whom he kind of forgot was even there to begin with. Once all the commotion over hiis friends death was over, Kinoshita started really noticing how bad everyone truly looked. “H-hey you ok?" Kinoshita asked as Yachi slowly nooded, still weeping slightly and her one hand went down to rub her sore on her thigh. That’s when Ukai noticed the shorts tied haphazardly around her upper thigh. _Why didn’t I notice them before?_ He thought as he asked Yachi about the clothes around her thigh.

“Where did you find those shorts?” he questioned, causing Yachi, who was slightly confused, to glance at where Ukai was pointing and then look down to see for herself what it was. “Oh these?” she glanced down at her leg where here arm was rubbing and responded, forgetting that she even had them wrapped around her leg, “I found this in Asahi’s gym bag when I was helping Daichi and-” she stopped mid-sentence, face paling immediately and Ukai’s gaze quickly alerted him that something was off but before he could ask about Daichi and if he was even okay, the young girl’s face went from pale to shock to downright determined as she yelled “OH MY GOD DAICHI!! I forgot all about him! The whole reason I came over to the bus in the first place was because of him! Coach he-he’s in trouble! He’s hurt really bad! A-and I couldn’t help him…. And he...he” She stumbled trying to find her words in the intense ramble that her body was producing, as her arms reached out on both sides of Ukai's arms and she grabbed him. “He’s going to die if we don’t hurry!” Yachi concluded getting all flustered as both men in front of her mirrored each other in terrified glances.

“No…” Ukai’s face drained upon hearing the news of what could be another disaster. “ No not again... Please no…” Ukai huffed under his breath, yet loud enough for the two of them to hear. “We have to go now!” Ukai shouted to the two students in front of him as he squatted down next to Hinata and tried lifting him again. Feeling the pull of a muscle in his left leg tighten as he flinched slightly trying to endure the pain, he placed his badly bruised right forearm under Hinata’s head and his left arm under the boy’s knees. He lifted Hinata up with a slight grunt, turning towards the front of the bus where a collection of broken trees remained thrust into the driver’s side windshield. Just before the four of them were about to go to Daichi though, they heard what sounded like a loud splash followed by a thump of something hitting the ground just around the corner. The three of them spun around and Kinoshita hesitantly called out into the night, waiting for a response. Alas, no response came and the group was about to continue forth when a tiny voice could be heard now.

“Oww..God damn it!” The voice sounded angrily this time as Kinoshita yelled out towards the darkness, fear overcoming his body.

“Who’s there..?” he asked and hesitatingly stepped forward with Yachi by his side. “Hello? Please answer me if you can hear me.” Kinoshita said as he and Yachi switched glances with each other and Ukai walked up behind them, Hinata in his hands.

"...ello... Guys?..." A muffled voice replied in a tone that was bealy above a whisper.

“Suga? Is that you?” Yachi inquired, voice strained as she stepped closer to the back corner of the bus where the voice resonated from.

“Ye-” the boy started but was suddenly cut off by his own cry of agony, triggering Yachi, Kinoshita, and even Ukai now to hurry over towards him. The three of them turned the corner and finally and saw Suga, on his back slightly curling in on himself with his knees almost touching his chest and his right arm cradling his left arm right above the elbow.

Suga inhaled sharply through his clenched teeth, gripping at his left shoulder in pain as Kinoshita and Yachi ran over towards him. He tried to speak more clearly upon seeing familiar faces of his friends, but only tasted blood as he tried to reach up and halt the flow. His mouth tasted bitter as the blood from his nose gushed out leaking freely across his face. Kinoshita and Yachi leaned down to see what was wrong when both noticed the insane amounts of blood, from cuts and bruises on his face but more predominantly from his nose.

“Suga?” Kinoshita questioned, as the third year squeezed his eyes shut in pain. After a moment or two Suga opened his eyes back up and glance at Kinoshita and Yachi with a throbbing making itself knowing in areas all over his body.

“My broken is nose and my arm feels off...like broken off…” Suga said slightly confused in a nasally voice trying his best to stand, but was slightly pushed back into a sitting position by Kinoshita.

“Woah, Suga just calm down for half a second okay? Then we can stand up. Take a deep breath then talk.” He instructed as the third year just nodded and caught high breath.

“...nks” Suga replied after a moment of trying to clear his head after the accident and with the help of the first and second year beside him, Suga stood on the first try. As he stood, sloshes of mud could be heard splashing on the ground beneath their feet, as they trudged closer to Ukai.

“W-what’s gowing on? I just...I just fell and, my arm…Fell out? No, out fell?” The boy’s voice sounded slightly delirious and frustrated as he stopped talking momentarily getting his words together. “I-I...” he began again, “I just fell out of the bus and my Arm. Hurts. Like. Hell...” he replied enunciating the ending of his sentence one word at a time.  
  
 “It’s ok. You're ok. We’re just all glad you’re alive Suga-” Yachi began as she wiped her hand across her eyes but the third year in front of them suddenly spoke, cutting her off.

  
  “Is that Hinata?” He glanced down at the boy in Ukai’s arms. “Wait...Is he sick? W-What happe-” Suga questioned, but stopped himself as he remembering the accident and rephrased his question with more urgency. “Where is everyone else at?! Have you found anyone else?!” At the mention of finding others, both Kinoshita and Yachi looked down towards the ground in defeat, the latter returning to her tears.

Kinoshita began to answer Suga, starting with a cough to clear his throat so his voice wouldn’t crack from his recent crying outburst. “Uhm. Well… We found Narita…” Kinoshita said slowly, stepping forward toward Suga, still with his head toward the ground. As he spoke, his throat stung slightly from dryness caused from the crying and the puking.  Ukai stepped in front of Kinoshita, who looked up at him with a confused look that evolved into one of appreciation once he realized what Ukai was doing: sparing Kinoshita from revealing the truth himself.

Ukai turned away from Kinoshita and toward Suga while still holding the unconscious Hinata. With an incredibly serious yet solemn tone, he sighed before explaining, “Narita’s dead, Suga. We found him right before we found you but…” he sighed yet again, “He didn’t make it.”

“What!? But-” Suga reacted but was cut off as Ukai continued what needed to be said.

“I’m sorry Suga, we tried everything we could but he… We couldn’t do anything to help him,” Ukai sadly announced moving slightly to the side to block Suga’s vision from possibly seeing Narita’s body in the mud. Suga just stood in shock, teeth slightly quivering, eyes wanting to form tears and was about to say something but couldn’t form any words. Ukai continued adding one bit of extra truth in hopes of providing some sort of closure to the boy, “He passed peacefully, at least.”

Suga’s mind raced as emotions and memories alike bombarded his head, causing him to ache and nearly tilt over from the sudden rush of information. _He’s dead? How could that be…_ He started to think, attempting to rationalize this morbid situation in which he found himself _, We were just talking earlier... How could be dead?!_

“Suga. I know you are in shock and i understand that this is a serious and depressing matter but we have to go. Can you walk on your own?” The simple question took the third year out of his trance as he stared quizzically at his coach as if wanting him to elaborate.

“Yeah. But why all of a sudden?” he answered, staring at Ukai with concern.

“Because we need to go now! Daichi is in trouble and we need to get back to him as quickly as we can! So I’ll ask one more time. Can. You. Walk?” Ukai repeated in a demanding tone, enunciating each word strong and clear.

“What?! Daichi is...” Suga questioned as he felt fear rise up from the pit of his stomach. “Y-yeah... Yeah I can walk. I’m pretty sure.”

“Good. We need to go now. Yachi, do you remember the way?” Ukai asked, honestly not too sure about following the girl’s lead but he and the others had no other option right now but to trust in her and follow her lead. "Yeah he should be just over there" She pointed and the small group of them began there way over towards where the captain of the Karasuno volleyball team laid waiting. 

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Daichi's teeth chattered together quietly and his left hand, clenched in a fist over his own chest, began to quiver as his fingers individually trembled. The frigid veil of night that enveloped his entire body began to take hold of him, numbing his senses and weakening his muscles as his entire being withered to the point of dystrophy. However, his breathing remained slow and steady; so much so that after a few minutes in this state, he couldn't even hear his own respiration.  With no one around, the only sound that remained to him was the soft pattering of the light rain tapping the leaves of the trees above, including the one he leaned against.  Now that the rain had subsided from its previous downpour, this noise was actually quite soothing and relaxing to Daichi, who allowed, and even invited, the darkness to take him. He leaned his head carefully against the tree behind him and delicately began to close his half-open eyes until all he saw before him was black.

With his eyes closed and his sense of touch and feeling diminished by his own exhaustion, the sound of rain around him was strengthened and enhanced. Each drop of rain became individualized as every curve and contour on the mountainside contributed to a different sound when struck.  Smoothly splattering against the many levels of leaves above his head and ricocheting softly off the rough bark of the trees themselves, the rain began to form an orchestra of faint drumming and light taps of chimes. This orchestra slowly developed in his head as more instruments were added to the ensemble. A gentle crescendo of flutes, oboes and other woodwinds evolved from nothingness and followed the rhythm that the rain had initiated. A silence followed, a rest for the many players in his mind, which allowed Daichi, who had now drifted complete off into a deep slumber, to focus on the image that blossomed from the darkness.

Light poured from a setting sun on the skyline directly in front of him, dazzling him temporarily before he could look around and fully comprehend his surroundings.  As his vision cleared, the orchestra returned, bows lightly gliding across a sea of string instruments. A field of soft white clouds formed around him and stretched outward toward the far-off horizon, seemingly cradling both him and the sky itself. Above himself and the pure white he lay upon, a plethora of colors weaved across the sky as if every ray of light from the sun formed its own visible rainbow.  Daichi smiled, gawking at the immaculate scene in front of him before he heard a sound echo across the clouds.

"Good morning, dear," a womanly voice rang out across the clouds and echoed throughout the entire scene itself, making it initially difficult for Daichi to locate the source. He continued to stay on the ground in the same position he was in the forest when he turned his head to the right and saw a woman donned in a light purple dress. It was a simple layered dress with scattered flower petals swirling around the fabric as if they were dancing in the wind and a light brown sash wrapped around the waist.  

Daichi stared at this woman with his mouth slightly agape and tears in his eyes. He immediately recognized this outfit as it was the one he had purchased for his mother with his allowance money long ago when he was twelve. Furthermore, this dress was the last present he ever gave to his mother since only two months following the purchase, cancer claimed her life. This angelic visage of his mother that stood before him, hands folded in front of her, was the same as the last time he ever saw his mother alive. Before long she spoke again, now with a little more uncertainty in her tone. “Daichi dear?” she asked as she seemed to float over towards his direction and sit down next to him on what looked to be a soft cloud, “Darling, what’s wrong?” she inquired, slight concern spreading across her face distorting her angelic beauty as her son blankly stared at her. “It's okay son, you don't have to worry about anything anymore, I’m here now, and I won’t let anything else harm you. Please tell me what’s wrong” she sweetly cooed as she placed her hand lightly on Daichi’s head and continued her motion from before as she gently scratched it, smiling down at her young boy.

“Mom,” the third year finally exhaled, tears visible in the corners of his eyes as one streaked down his face. Although he was surprised to see her, he was also strangely starting to get used to seeing his mother again as he took one arm and wiped his face and stared into her green eyes that once was a source of security in his life.  She stared back at him with her head slightly tilted to the side; her smile seemed to melt all his fears away as he came to realize how much he really did miss her. Daichi smiled again, trying his hardest not to even blink for fear of losing sight of her so easily.  “I missed you so much…” Daichi continued, contemplating the multitudinous things he wished to tell her, eventually settling on telling her about the state of the family, “Dad is finally getting back on his feet again. He couldn’t ...” He trailed off in his speech as he looked all around him.  The changing colors of the sky entranced him once more as they swirled and flowed like water. This absolutely otherworldly sight finally kindled his curiosity as he looked back to his mother and simply asked, “Where are we?”

His mother smiled, scooting closer to her son and gently wrapped her arms around him in an embrace “Don’t worry dear. All that matters is that you are safe and I am here now.” Once again, like during the previous vision of her, all of Daichi’s tension that he had built up seemed to evaporate out of his body as he lay in his mother's caring arms. Her arms themselves acted like a shield of security and protection with Daichi firmly embraced in the middle. He felt warm as he wished that he could stay like this forever, his mother by his side again and no worries to plague his mind. Gracefully she stood in one gradual and fluid motion before reaching her hand down towards him as if inviting him to join her. Daichi blinked and looked away in shame. “I can’t. My body won’t move” He said sadly as his mother smirked in response and continued to offer her hand in assistance.

“Daichi dear, in this place you can do whatever you want. If you want to stand up and join me all you have to do is ‘ _wake up!’_ ”

“What?” Daichi questioned as his mother just smiled and repeated her sentence,

“I said, if you want to stand all you have to do it get up”.

“Oh…” Daichi said after a few moments of confusion, “I guess... I guess I just heard you wrong,” he concluded as his mother reached out her hand yet again and the boy grabbed it and moved to stand up. Once on his feet he felt like something shook his shoulder, but upon turning his head he found nothing there.

“Some people in this world,” his mother began as Daichi whipped his head back and stared at her, “Just don’t get enough time...and that saddens me so” she told Daichi and just as he was about to reply he felt it again, only this time the shove of his shoulder felt more forced. Once again his gaze moved all around him in search for the disturbance but could not seem to find the reason why these invisible shoves kept appearing.

“Hunny is something wrong? You look like you’re looking for something?” She asked as Daichi turned and smiled at her.

“Oh haha...no it’s nothing. Everything’s..." He paused for a brief second before smiling at his mother. "Everythinf's fine because you’re here! There’s so many things I’ve been wanting to tell you about!” The third year’s smile grew as he and his mother came across a bench that seemed to float from the ground up. Both sat down on said bench, as Daichi chatted away about his volleyball crew, how well he was doing in his academics, his grades, and even funny moments that happened at home. “And our new first year recruits hated each other...when they first came to Karasuno they tried to battle each other on the court. And do you know what they did?” he asked looking over at his mother who seemed to enjoy the story so far.

“No ,what happened?” she replied enthusiastically.

“Kageyama, one of the first years, served the ball straight at Hinata, the other first year, and it hit off his face and drilled the principle right in the head!” Daichi told his mother as she brought a hand up to her mouth in a slight gasp before responding,

“Oh no... What happened next?!” his mother energetically voiced out as Daichi continued.

“When it hit the principle...his Toupee flew off and landed on my head!” He finished as his mother looked just about ready to burst into laughter, and thinking back about it now, he had to admit it was kind of funny.

“No way...haha...that actually happened! That’s too funny!” She laughed as she put one arm around her son and patted his back. “You know… that reminds me of the time your father accidently tripped that man at the shopping center and his wig fell off.” She giggled and Daichi looked amused by the story that his mother never told him. “But that’s-that’s typical of your father, he always was one for causing problems. You know Daichi” she started, moving her arm that was patting her sons back, up to his shoulder and slung it around it. “That’s why I loved him. He was a tryer and even though he failed a whole bunch, he also succeeded in being the best husband I could have asked for.” She responded, her grin spreading from cheek to cheek. “I really do miss sharing stories with you.”

“Yeah”, Daichi agreed with a smile to match his mother's and eventually the storytelling came to a close as his mother got up and brushed the dust clouds off her dress. “You ready to, ‘gonna make it!’” a new voice that wasn’t his mother's finished his mom’s sentence as Daichi looked at the multicolored sky once more in confusion.

 _A man’s voice? Where could that be coming from?_ He thought as the voice sounded through his mind, slightly ringing a bell, but when trying to focus more on it he had no luck.

 “Wha-” he started to question but was cut off my his mother's sweet tone calling his name.

“Daichi dear, is something the matter? You seem distracted again.” She asked stopping in her steps and walking back towards her son. Daichi though just shook his head and reverted his gaze back ahead of him.

“Oh” he replied, startled at first, “oh, it was nothing...I-I thought I heard a voice just now...but I guess it was nothing.”

“I see” she replied taking her sons hand. “Are you ready to go then?” She asked as Daichi looked off into the beautiful vast sky.

“To where?” he questioned, still gazing off into the mist of eternity.

His mother let go of his hand and turned him around to face her, both hands on his shoulders as she simply replied, “Home”.

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“Come on, Daichi!” Suga sat on his side beside Daichi, clenching his hands around his friend’s arms and jerking them with light amounts of pressure while calling his name in desperation and begging for any kind of conscious feedback from the sleeping boy. With every shake, Suga felt his own broken shoulder grind like the teeth of rusted and jagged gears laboriously attempting to spin and function. With every second, the remaining strength in his left arm rapidly depleted and, before passing out from the pain he subjected himself to, he lowered his one arm and regretfully resolved to continue using only the one functional arm to try to wake Daichi. However, Suga’s undertaking did not suffer at all as he continued bellowing loudly to his friend despite being so close, “Daichi…. DAICHI! Open your eyes, wake up!”  Suga’s tone of voice seemed to switch between one of despair and dismay to one of of authority, as if commanding Daichi to awake from his slumber. “You _will_ be okay, we are going to save you and you’re waking up!” he decreed, mandating the terms of Daichi’s survival.

Tears refused to form out of Suga’s eyes as he hollered at Daichi, firmly believing his own proclamations concerning his friend’s health. Chaos encircled the two as the scene that was quiet and serene when Daichi closed his eyes had since evolved into a different untamed monster. Ukai and Kinoshita sat on their knees on the left side of Daichi, opposite of Suga, and were attempting as best as they could to control and halt the flow of blood out of his abdomen.  When they had arrived, the makeshift bandage that Yachi created using Asahi’s jersey had become so soaked with rainwater and so saturated with blood and thus had loosened, allowing Daichi to continue to bleed once more. Ukai had placed Hinata down near a tree a few meters away and there he remained as they worked, almost looking comfortable laying in the grass and dirt.  Yachi, who had accurately led the group back to Daichi through the darkness despite her failing sanity and sensibility, paced around the scene. She was incoherently muttering to herself but her voice would burst in volume at random intervals and she would scream a word or phrase, not necessarily at anyone in particular.

Ukai and Kinoshita continued to fight their losing battle against the wound, trying as they might to put pressure on the wound. However, the wound still had the bar from the bus in it, which Ukai and Kinoshita also knew not to remove or else cause further harm. Instead, the two opted to apply pressure to the area to staunch the flow of blood, but given the awkward size and shape of the wound with the pole sticking out of it, it was incredibly difficult to retain any sort of constant pressure. Ukai had his hands against Daichi with the pole sticking out in between his thumbs and index fingers, blood seeping through the cracks in his fingers covering both his hands in the crimson liquid. “Get me something else, now!” He yelled at Kinoshita, who was digging through Tanaka’s bag.

On the way to Daichi, they had found another bag near the back of the bus that belonged to Tanaka and, via Yachi’s instruction, had grabbed it, as Daichi had instructed her prior. Kinoshita was finding and gathering every form of cloth or anything that could be construed into a wrapping of some descript, “What are you doing, just hand me something, anything!” Ukai continued to scream, not necessarily because he was mad at Kinoshita, but because both Suga and Yachi were both being very loud.

“He was talking!” Yachi stopped and screamed at the group of people surrounding Daichi. She was still using the stick she had found earlier to walk and was hobbling around the scene using it, though sometimes she seemed to forget her injury or that she was using a walking stick and just dragged it behind her. Ukai, Suga, and Kinoshita had gotten used to her outbursts in this situation by now and nearly ignored them, opting to focus on the bleeding and unconscious Daichi rather than the unhelpful Yachi. “He was cold! I needed to find…” she began to say but trailed off and turned around, looking into the woods as she muttered some more words to herself, “... Find Ukai and…. Others… air conditioning…” She started walking around them again, clenching the stick to her chest like a stuffed animal, walking normally despite the gash in her leg.

Kinoshita could only find a single white shirt and a pair of Volleyball shorts left in the bag, along with various other useless items. However, Asahi’s bag, which Yachi and Daichi were looking through previously, was right next to where Kinoshita was, so he began to look through there as well. He could not find any, since the only article of clothing was already removed, besides the pair of socks, but he was able to find a small packet of hair ties, which he also grabbed. He handed the shirt and shorts over to Ukai, who quickly grabbed them and pushed them down to Daichi, wrapping the pole with the shorts and the surrounding wound with the white shirt since it could cover more area. “Wrap these around the pipe to keep that in place,” Kinoshita shouted as he widened one of the hair ties to fit around the inch-wide pipe and gestured to the shorts wrapped around them. If he could secure the shorts around the pipe tightly, then keeping pressure on the wound would be easier with the white shirt layered atop the shorts. Without waiting for agreement from Ukai, Kinoshita attempted to move the tie carefully down the pipe to clasp the fabric of the shorts around it. However, his hands were shaking and unsteady, as he was nervous about accidentally budging the pole and he simply held the tie stretched out above the pipe, trying to position it before moving down. At least by now the rain has slowed to an almost halt, just lightly drizzling, so the team didn’t have much to worry about on that end.

As Kinoshita kneeled down, Suga continued to appeal to the captain, “I can’t carry you, Daichi, you’re too big, so you’re just going to have to wake up! Open your eyes now, dammit!” Though he said this rather loudly, this did not phase the other three, as Suga was consistently coming up with different ways of pleading for Daichi to wake up and constantly yelling and shaking him.

Ukai noticed Kinoshita’s hesitation and groaned, “Just do it already, hurry up!” Kinoshita slightly jumped at Ukai yelling at him and lost grip of the hair tie, which flung off his finger into the mud in the distance. “Goddammit, Kinoshita! Just get another one… Wait...” he paused, remembering that the bag they had just found was owned by Tanaka, “Did you see that game thing of Tanaka’s in the bag?”

As Kinoshita was retrieving another hair tie, he looked back up at Ukai and stumbled over his words with his reply, “T-The PSP? Yes, I-I think s-”

Ukai turned to Yachi and interrupted Kinoshita after getting the answer he wanted. “You!” he shouted at Yachi, who stopped in her tracks almost dropping her walking stick, startled by the sudden call, “Do something useful: grab that PSP from Tanaka’s bag and bring it over here.” Yachi stood and stared at Ukai, grasping onto her walking stick like it was her only lifeline. Ukai rolled his eyes at Yachi who remained like a statue in front of them and yelled even louder, “Move!”

Yachi jumped again but quickly moved over to the bag, hands shaking as she began her search for the device.  Since Kinoshita had already removed the clothing from the bag, it was relatively easy for Yachi to find the PSP, despite it being dark and almost impossible to see, by just feeling around the bag with her trembling hands.  Large jagged scars decorated the front of the device that she found, rendering it almost unusable, and the buttons on the right hand side of it were smashed inward, bowing into the flat front panel. Not seeing the breaks but feeling the cracked glass rub against her hand, she grasped it and stood back up, holding it up at eye-level with the shattered screen facing Ukai. “I-I found it!” she announced loud enough for Ukai and Kinoshita to hear over Suga’s constant yelling pleas for Daichi to awake from his slumber. As she spoke, her wet and uneasy hands lost grip of the device and she dropped it back in the bag, not reacting quickly enough to catch it as it fell. “I’m sorry, i’m sorry, i’m sorry!” she yelled back as she went back down to pick it up, tears raining from her eyes. She began to internally blame herself for both Narita’s demise and Daichi’s likely demise, feeling as though her perceived uselessness and clumsiness are killing her own friends.

Grabbing the device again with her right hand, she felt another metallic object brush up against her fingertips. Confused, she let go of her walking stick and grabbed at the item with her now free left hand. It turned out to be something smaller than the PSP, but shared a similar rectangular shape and was rather thin. Gasping, she shrieked excitedly at the group, “It’s a phone! I-I found Tanaka’s phone!” Her eyes lit up, feeling as though she may have found the answer to their problems, a way to contact help and get Daichi and everyone else out of this terrible situation. Ukai stopped instructing and yelling at Kinoshita for a moment at this news and the two turned to look at Yachi while still applying pressure to Daichi’s wound.  

“Daichi, you can do this! Just open your eyes,” Suga beseeched, gripping the jersey Daichi was wearing even harder, “It’s time to go home... Please, Daichi, it’s time to go home!” Tears started to force their way through Suga’s stalwart eyes, but he fought them back as he continued to call for his friend to awaken. “You need to get up now… please,” he said as his broken nose continued to bleed, dripping slowly onto Daichi’s chest.

Yachi started to fidget with the phone, holding the power button to turn it on, “H-Hold on! Just h-hold on!” she said through her shivering teeth, “I’ll just... t-turn it on... and then w-we…” Her face lit up, artificially this time from light emanating from the smartphone, as her words trailed off.   The screen in front of her was on, but only the top left corner of the phone was illuminated, shining a white, almost blinding, light back at her. “...A-And t-then we…” she repeated, studdering through her words even more as she got more quiet. No buttons would do anything on the phone when she tried to use them and the bright white corner didn’t display anything except a blank corner. After a few seconds of turning it and tapping vigorously against the broken screen, it shut off in her hands. Ashamed, she looked back at Ukai and Kinoshita, “It’s… dead…” She trailed off once more and hung her head in shame as she held the two devices close to her chest, “I’m sorry…”

“Yachi!” Ukai screamed quickly back at her, not even hearing her last few words due to Suga, who was still ignoring the three of them in favor of Daichi, but gathered based on her reaction that the phone did not work. She did not reply, prompting Ukai to yell once more, “Hey! Yachi!” She quickly snapped her head back up, showing her face full tears. “Nevermind the phone,” he said with a little more of a calm tone, “Does the other thing work? Does it turn on?”

Yachi sniffed and pressed a few buttons solemnly on the PSP, not familiar with how this device functions.  Eventually, the PSP turned on and, like the phone, only showed a portion of the screen, which lit up in a bright white light. However, this device remained on and half of the screen stay ed lit, instead of just the top corner like with the smartphone. Yachi’s spirits were lifted ever so slightly as something finally started to go somewhat right for her. “Y-yes!” she exclaimed, dropping the phone into the bag and shining the light toward Ukai and Kinoshita who winced slightly at the sudden brightness, “It’s on! It’s working!”

“Good,” Ukai said seriously, turning his attention back to the wound, “Now bring it over here and shine it on Daichi, we need to see what we’re fucking doing.” As he explained, Yachi quickly moved over to the two of them, forgetting her walking stick on the ground next to the bag, not even noticing the pain from the gash in her leg. Yachi stood above the two, who were still kneeling on the ground on Daichi’s left side, and shone the light down from above them to illuminate the scene.  

Despite seeing the injury before, Yachi reeled back momentarily at the sight of the bar in Daichi’s abdomen, the skin around the incision broken and cracked and Ukai and Kinoshita’s hands, which were still holding the area down, were covered in the dark crimson blood that reflected the light, causing them to shine.  “Oh my god… How are you going to fix that?!” She screamed, backing away along with the light in her hands, “He’s bleeding too much! You can’t do anyt…”

“YACHI!” Ukai hollered at the top of his lungs, “Shut the fuck up and get back here with that light!” The girl immediately halted her rant and took a large gulp before moving to stand next to them once more, opting to look forward at the trees in the distance and allow Ukai and Kinoshita to deal with the wound themselves as she provided the light. Now that Yachi finally held the light for them long enough, Kinoshita was able to conclude his plan and wrap one of Asahi’s hair ties around the clothing encircling the pole.

With the bar dressed up so, Ukai did not need to apply so much pressure around the tender area immediately surrounding the pipe and could focus on the edges of the gash. Without acknowledging Kinoshita’s idea, he said loudly, “Now help me keep pressure on this! Put your hands here and keep some weight on it.” Kinoshita followed Ukai’s command and placed both of his hands around Daichi’s injury, pushing down against him with enough force that Daichi’s lower half budged to the side. “Don’t push so hard, you dumbass,” Ukai worriedly yelled, still concentrating on the wound, “Just hold against it.”

Kinoshita began to doubt the success of their actions as he shouted at the incision, “Nothing is working! He’s still asleep, cold, and he’s still bleeding!” Kinoshita started to sob and lose strength in his hands, “What are we going to do? What are we going to do? He’s going to d-”

“Calm down!” Ukai interrupted again, attempting to settle the situation to some degree, “Just keep the pressure: if we don’t, it will be worse! We just need to stabilize him!” he tried to explain as Kinoshita attempted to interject, causing Ukai to continue even louder to overrule Kinoshita, “Just help me stop the bleeding; he’ll be fine if we can just stop the bleeding.” Ukai was losing patience with the situation and was getting angry at any hindrance that would prevent him from saving Daichi, or, from losing yet another member of the team.  After witnessing Narita, Takeda and Kiyoko perish in gruesome ways, the latter of which he still had not revealed to the rest of the group, Ukai finally had a chance to save one of them, and he did not want to lose this chance.

Suga was completely in tears by this point and had essentially collapsed into Daichi, leaning with his shoulder onto Daichi and hanging his head almost into the mud. Nevertheless, he still managed to formulate words through the tears and the blood dripping from his nose, “Daichi please… We need you, captain...” His speech was strained and hoarse, weak from the constant yelling but continued regardless, “...I need you.”

Kinoshita started once more, “We need to pull it out, he won’t stop-”

Yachi interjected as well at the same time, “But he’s already lost too much blood, what can you even-”

“Everybody calm down!” Ukai yelled as loud as he could muster, trying to stabilize the understandably worried students, “Just calm down! Focus and we ca-” He started to rally them together but stopped when he heard Yachi gasp slightly and he looked at her. She continued to hold the light up, but had shakily raised her empty hand and pointed at Daichi, her mouth slightly agape and trembling. Ukai turned to look in the direction she pointed and found she was pointing directly at the captain’s stomach. Daichi lay entirely motionless and everyone went silent.

Suga lifted his head up, looked at Daichi’s closed eyes, and murmured

“...Dai...chi…?”

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	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was like two days late...I have been very busy with working and going to the doctors and having to pick up my Taiwanese friend from the airport and she's staying with me for a few weeks. Anyway here it is, the newest chapter!! Thank you Rob!! I'm also thinking about probably renaming my story but we will see.

** Chapter 6 **

Ennoshita trudged sideways down the mountainside alone, carefully planning and executing every single step of the way.  He crouched, moving with his knees bent enough so that he could graze the mud behind him with the fingertips of his good hand.  Since he had already slipped and fell twice since leaving Tsukishima and Yamaguchi at the road above, he opted to move in this fashion so to provide himself some support if he were to fall again.  It was a slow process, but one that ensured that his broken wrist would not be strained further. Finding the specific way down the mountain was thankfully easy enough since the bus left a depression in the mud that it slid through, as well as multiple broken or bent trees that the bus collided with during its descent. The damage itself was tremendous as Ennoshita felt fear rise up in the back of his mind when he thought about the others. Ennoshita tried to move from tree to tree, since even the bent or toppled trees acted as stable platforms for him to stabilize his balance down the ridge, which got steeper past where Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were previously located.

Moving Yamaguchi and Tsukishima was rather difficult, as everyone had some sort of injury. Yamaguchi though was easily the most damaged of the three with his entire right side bleeding and inflamed to the point that any contact would feel like he was being burned with hot coals. Carefully, the three had made it up the mountain and Ennoshita left them to flag down any vehicles for help and wait for the authorities, if they were able to track them from the earlier call. Ennoshita feared for the first years and didn’t want to leave them, but he knew that he had to go help the others. For all he knew, he could be the least damaged out of everyone and that alone would be enough to terrify anyone. Ennoshita gulped and knew that if he were to find anyone on his trek, they are likely also going to be in pain, most likely worse than Yamaguchi and Tsukishima. With this in mind, as well as the fact that the part of the mountain he is on is even steeper, he plans to simply gather together as many people as he can and wait for help to arrive down here, rather than trying to move any more injured people up the slope.

Ennoshita stepped forward toward the next tree with his hand touching the bark of another, feigning stability. Once again, his foot slid out from under him and he fell back on his rear end, sliding down the mud a little but managing to stop himself by grabbing onto a thick branch on the ground next to him. Unfortunately, as he fell, his hurt wrist came down and smacked into his thigh, causing it to shake and a wave of torment to permeate through his entire body.  He reeled back, laying his back into the mud and his head on the branch he caught as he brought his other arm forward to hold his wrist, squeezing it as if that would make the pain subside. Ennoshita sat there with his eyes clenched, almost rolling into a ball, for a few moments before noticing something important about his surroundings. Like everything else around him, the branch his head lay upon was wet, but it was also rather soft, and it seemed to depress when his head pressed into it.

Confused, Ennoshita lifted his head up off of the supposed branch and rolled on his side, not yet willing to stand up as his wrist was still searing. Though it was dark and rainy, Ennoshita was able to ascertain that the branch was actually someone's arm covered in a dark grey sleeve and laying in the mud. Ennoshita's eyes widened and he hastily attempted to get up, his legs kicking furiously in the mud and rain as he attempted to regain his footing in the thick muck. Upon getting up on his knees, he grasped the arm, half-believing that he was seeing an illusion. As he grabbed it, he then noticed that his fingers rubbed up against the person's hand, which was odd considering he grabbed the person's forearm. It was then that he found that although the arm lay straight, the person's small hand was crushed and bent entirely backward with the back of their palm flush against their forearm and bone protruding from where the hand ought to be located. This took Ennoshita completely off guard and he tumbled backward, sliding down the mountain away from this terrifying visage. As he looked at the arm's source, he saw that the person it was connected to was lying partly in a bush next to his position. Furthermore, their face was upside-down and facing downhill directly at where Ennoshita now sat in absolute shock, horrified by the person's wide-open eyes and open mouth. The face belonged to Kiyoko, and it was frozen in a state of absolute fear.

"...Ki...yoko...?" Ennoshita slowly whispered, raising a shaking hand toward her as if she were going to reach back for him. Kiyoko did not move, but her cold eyes continued to stare directly at Ennoshita, which was even more terrifying given that her glasses were missing, making her eyes even more noticeable and prominent.  Her face was splattered with blood that had been smeared by the rain that fell on her, causing her to look as if her face were almost stained a light shade of red.  Ennoshita's legs trembled as he stood up to move closer to Kiyoko, still hoping that she was in some odd coma or she just could not respond, though his mind already knew the truth. As he approached her, he was forced to accept her demise upon seeing that although Kiyoko lay in the bush in front of him, only half of her was there. Her legs were violently ripped out of their sockets and flesh hung from her waist, bones and other parts of her inner body protruding out of her and spilling out into the bush. The rain and the mud had masked the smell for a time, but now that he could actually see her, the smell of her corpse seemed to instantly permeate the air. Without even having time to move away, Ennoshita immediately heaved over and threw up on the ground between himself and Kiyoko, sick from both the sight and the smell.

After throwing up, he attempted to step away, fumbling over his own feet and falling once more into the mud. He continued to move however, crawling away with one hand as fast as he could away from her body as he muttered to himself, "Oh god, no... No, no... Wh-" As he started to mumble more words, he threw up slightly again into the mud inches away from his face, the stench of death still lingering around him. He sat still with his mouth open, staring directly downward as saliva and bile dripped from his bottom lip. He knew that it was impossible for everyone to walk away alive from the crash, he was not naive enough to believe otherwise, but the genuineness and the potency of seeing an actual dead body was still too much for him to completely process as he started to weep quietly.

Suddenly though, Ennoshita heard a loud wail pierce through the night, emanating from a location on the other side of the bus trail from where Kiyoko’s grisly scene was laid out. Ennoshita believed it to be a man’s voice, but with the rain still muffling all sounds and the fact that the voice was cracking as it cried through the night made it so he was not entirely sure. However, he knew that someone else had to be alive; he knew that there was someone he could actually help, though he still feared finding out what made the person cry out so desperately. As his mind ran through multiple scenarios, Ennoshita was not entirely sure which situation would be preferable. Scattering all of these thoughts to the side, Ennoshita weakly pushed himself off the ground, his weaker leg causing him some trouble as he rose, and looked off in the direction of the screech, his back to Kiyoko’s body. Through the tears, he softly said to himself as he carefully stepped forward, “Keep moving…. You can’t help her now, just… Keep. Moving.” Somehow, talking aloud to himself seemed to ease his mind much more than quietly musing in the dark. He continued to talk to himself as he cautiously moved, striving to strengthen his own will by talking himself through the anguish, “Stay strong… You can still move. Keep walking. Stay strong.”

Though the previous yell never repeated itself, the sound of it continued to ring in Ennoshita’s ears, giving him the focus and the determination he needed to persevere forward in the direction that it came. Since it came to the side, it was slightly easier as well for Ennoshita to travel there, since every step would slide him downhill a bit so he was essentially climbing uphill constantly to keep a level pace, which was easier for him to do.  After a couple minutes of slow travel, Ennoshita heard a noise like someone talking a little down the hill and to the side from where he was. Changing his trajectory, he called out through the trees, “Hello? Is anyone there?” He felt like that question was a little obvious and followed it with a better one, “Can you hear me?”

In response, Ennoshita heard the voice yell back out to him from the same direction as before, although much closer and therefore louder, “He’s fine!” This understandably confused Ennoshita, though he could tell by now who’s voice that belonged to, as he had heard the person yell or announce things loudly nearly every day: it was Tanaka.

“Tanaka?" Ennoshita asked vonfused before trying again, "Im coming, Tanaka,” he yelled back as he quickened his pace, almost slipping in the mud but managing to keep himself upright despite his new rapid speed, “Hold on!” Thoughts filled Ennoshita’s mind now about what he heard Tanaka yell, _‘He’s fine’? Who’s fine... and why would that even be his response?_ While thinking these thoughts, he continued to yell out to Tanaka, providing support from afar, “I’m almost there, Tanaka! Don’t move!” It was then that Ennoshita started to think more about Tanaka’s voice, which did not sound as confident as he usually is. In fact, to Ennoshita, it sounded as is Tanaka’s voice cracked and was sharper than usual, like he had just been crying. _If whoever he is talking about is fine... why would he say it like that…?_ These ideas simply worried Ennoshita further, prompting him to move even faster.

The incline had decreased in steepness, making it easier for Ennoshita to move through the trees. After calling out a few more times, he did not receive another reply but could still hear Tanaka talking, whispering even. Eventually, Ennoshita found, in an open area between trees, and Tanaka on his knees in the mud, hunched over something smaller than he, facing away from Ennoshita. He continued to speak while facing straight down at the thing he was hunched over, which struck Ennoshita as odd since there did not seem to be anyone else in the area. “Tanaka! I found you!” Ennoshita said, delighted to actually find someone else alive. Relieved, he rushed up to Tanaka, “I’m so glad you’re alright!” he happily cried as a sudden image of Kiyoko flashed before his eyes. “I just found…” He stopped, realizing that it might not be a good idea to inform Tanaka of the gruesome demise of Kiyoko he had just found prior to discovering Tanaka himself.

While thinking this, Ennoshita noticed that Tanaka had not moved or even reacted to Ennoshita’s presence and was still muttering words seemingly to himself, “... He’s fine… He just… Rest… Yeah, rest… Let him rest... heh…” Tanaka started to chuckle unnervingly and Ennoshita stopped in his tracks, almost afraid to approach his own friend even further. “Heh heh…. His hair…” Tanaka continued, creepily chuckling but keeping a static facial expression of exhaustion, “...it’s so funny… He looks… Funny… Heh...” Tanaka moved his hand forward, patting the object in front of him. “Everyone deserves a good nap now and then…”

Ennoshita was unbelievably concerned now by Tanaka’s ramblings and stepped forward to kneel down next to the usually loud and rambunctious second year. “Hey Tanaka, who are you ta-” Ennoshita started, putting his hand on his friend’s back. As he knelt down, his foot bumped into Tanaka’s right leg, the bottom half of which was unnaturally bent to the side with a large lump about the size of a fist a few centimeters below Tanaka’s knee. This modest collision sent Tanaka into an absolute torment of howling as he rolled to the side away from Ennoshita, holding his right knee tightly with both of his hands. This fit that can only be described as calamitous amounts of agony, shocked and scared Ennoshita, as Tanaka had been incredibly quiet and was not showing any signs of being in pain, as if something had blocked his own pain receptors in his mind. Tanaka rolled onto his back, catching Ennoshita’s attention further as he rocked back and forth with his eyes tightly shut and he screamed straight up at the rain clouds above. Ennoshita scooted over to Tanaka with his hands raised as if he was going to grab his friend and calm him down, but in reality he had no idea how to help Tanaka, as he was still recovering from the  surprise. “Tanaka! Stop moving, you’ll just make it worse!” he beckoned as he reached his good arm over towards his friend who lay in the wet mud in front of him.

Tanaka’s leg was obviously damaged, much like Tsukishima’s broken one, and Ennoshita could clearly see that fact. Tanaka though, ignored the arm that was coming towards him and continued to ignore all of Ennoshita’s commands, rolling from side to side on his back in a state of pure suffering. Ennoshita cringed slightly upon seeing Tanaka’s leg, but kept his composure rather easily, as he had already seen worse. Now that Tanaka had rolled away and Ennoshita had scooted closer, he could better see the object that Tanaka was hunched over, which, as Ennoshita correctly and regretfully presumed based on Tanaka’s mutterings, turned out to be the body of Nishinoya.

Noya’s body lay completely battered and broken before Ennoshita’s eyes, his knees forcefully crunched up to his shoulders, like a fetal position, and just about every bone in his lower legs snapped, causing the legs themselves to twist and turn in unnatural and unnerving directions. The cracked bones protruded out of his legs in various directions, including the razor-edged snapped tibia, which pierced straight through his knees. As much as Ennoshita wanted to rip his eyes away from the gruesome scene in front of him, he continued to stare down at his absolutely crushed teammate with saddened eyes. Unfortunately, the worst part wasn’t the legs but the way Noya’s neck was twisted and bent to the side, his face completely void of any expression or emotion, eyes closed as if sleeping. The skin around Noya’s jawline was being stretched, pulling his mouth open to the side with blood trailing out of it and onto the ground beneath him. Ennoshita hands began to uncontrollably flinch, his body trying its best to send him messages to turn away and towards Tanaka, who was now quieting down from his earlier turmoil.

Ennoshita swallowed after finally closing his gaping mouth before finally speaking to Tanaka. “What...” he stammered, attempting to divine what exactly to say about the situation presented before him, “... W-What… How?” Ennoshita eyes looked grim as he finally shifted his gaze at the writhing boy next to him. “Tanaka, he’s-”

Before Ennoshita could even finish that statement, Tanaka’s eyes opened wide and his eyebrows pulled down sharply. He let go of his leg and flipped over on to his stomach before floundering over to Noya’s body, dragging his hurt leg through the mud with incredible speed. In the process of this movement, he nearly pushed Ennoshita over, flailing about haphazardly before positioning himself over his deceased friend on all fours, like a tiger standing over and protecting its cub. He turned his head sharply to glare at the voiceless Ennoshita with a vicious, even barbaric, look about him before shouting, “He’s fine! Stay away from him!” Tanaka breathed heavily to the point that he seemed to even snarl like a wild animal at his dumbstruck friend, “Yuu… Yuu just needs... Some sleep… That’s what he said… Sleep…” He turned away from his concerned friend and looked down at the body he was protecting. Somehow, Tanaka continued to stay upright on all of his limbs, despite his obviously hurt leg that twisted with his limp foot laying sideways in the mud behind him. He started to whisper downward, now smiling despite the look of anger his eyes retained, “Right, Yuu?... Ha-ha-hah! That’s what you said!”

Ennoshita simply stared at Tanaka as his friend continued to softly speak and chuckle to Noya’s unmoving body. Ennoshita seriously doubted that Tanaka spoke to Noya at all, or rather that Noya had spoken back to Tanaka, since from his perspective it looked as though Noya had been dead for quite some time, likely crushed and killed on impact during the crash or during the descent. Ennoshita lifted his hand toward Tanaka and leaned forward, carefully choosing the words in his mind he wanted to speak. Calmly, he spoke, “Tana-”

“Shut up!” Tanaka exploded immediately upon hearing Ennoshita’s attempt at defusing the situation, “You’ll wake him up! You can’t do that, Ennoshita, you just can’t!”  Once more, his face of brazen rage transformed into a mellow and cheerful one as he continued to speak, now softer.  “Heh… Sleep… Just let him… Don’t let the coach find out…” Tanaka turned away once more, now staring up to the sky where the rain had now completely diminished, only single droplets falling upon them from the wet leaves above their head. As he stared up to the sky, his unhurt leg began to buckle along with his arms, almost falling upon Noya. The clouds above had begun to part with the dispersed rain, allowing moonlight to seep through the dense clouds and flood the landscape illuminating the scene ever so slightly and highlighting the silhouette of the boys. Ennoshita looked up at his friend, now easier to see with the light breaking through the canopy of the trees, and saw tears flowing down Tanaka’s cheeks.

Ennoshita stood silently while Tanaka cried, looking to the moon in the sky like a wolf about to howl. Stepping forward, he placed his functional hand on Tanaka’s shoulder, “Come on Tanaka, leave him be. Let him…” Ennoshita hesitated, choking back his own tears as he turned his head away from them and down the slope, “...Sleep.”

Tanaka’s head slumped forward, hanging loosely from his shoulder as the tears continued to fall, now upon Noya’s face. With his eyes closed tightly, he protested to Ennoshita, “B-But… He’s gonna get u-up, Ennoshita!” His words were infused with sobbing, making it difficult for Ennoshita to understand, though he managed to as he simply stood silently by Tanaka’s side. “W-W-We can’t j-just leave him!” Tanaka continued, now with hs forearms flush to the ground, almost hugging the crumpled body of Noya.”

Ennoshita tried to rationalize with crying boy before him, “I’m sorry, Tanaka, there’s noth-”

“There’s nothing to be scared of!” Tanaka screamed out at the top of his lungs, interrupting his friend once more before turning and grabbing Ennoshita’s shirt with his fists. He pulled down with such force that Ennoshita was forced to bend forward and almost fell again, his face now only inches away from Tanaka’s. Tanaka sat there on his knees, digging the injured leg further in the mud, though hardly showing any signs that he noticed or even cared about his own pain at this time. From this distance, Ennoshita could see every emotion that Tanaka was exhibiting, principle among them being fear and anguish. “That’s what he said! That’s what he said!!” Tanaka bellowed, increasing in volume with the repetition. Ennoshita stood with his mouth open, trying to discern to what Tanaka was referring. After breathing heavily a couple of times, Tanaka loosened his grip on Ennoshita’s shirt and allowed him to stumble backwards away from them. As he released Ennoshita, Tanaka finally seemed to react once more to the pain in his right leg as whatever strength he had left wavered and dissolved away, causing him to wince in agony. He fell away from Noya’s body to the right, seemingly using one of the last bits of energy he reserved to ensure that he did not fall upon his friend. He plopped in the mud and slid slightly, still facing Noya with his arms almost outstretched as if expecting Noya to reach out in kind.

As he lay in the mud, Tanaka continued to mumble, “That’s what he said… He said… He’ll guard us…” With the rain gone, Ennoshita could hear Tanaka’s low voice, strained by his previous yelling, “There’s nothing to be scared of… B-Because he’ll guard us… He’ll p-protect us” Tanaka’s voice wavered as he spoke and it took a moment for Ennoshita to completely understand that Tanaka was referring to Noya’s speech to the team during their match against Dateko. The little second year had always inspired the team, somehow protecting them all like an unwavering shield, despite being one of the smallest in Karasuno. As he remembered this, Ennoshita’s composure finally faltered, forcing the teen to turn his head away from Tanaka to mask the singular tears forming in his eyes. Without moving a single part of his body, Tanaka continued to speak in a broken monotone fashion at Noya, “Please, Noya… I don’t want... to be scared anymore.” For a moment, he sat there in silence, hoping for a response from his best friend while knowing deep down that nothing would come. Nevertheless, he pleaded once more, “Please... Talk to me… Not yet…”

Ennoshita kneeled down next to Tanaka and simply let him ramble and vent his feelings outward into the silent void. When Ennoshita left Tsukishima and Yamaguchi at the top of the hill, he had a slight semblance of hope concerning the status of the rest of his team. Unintentionally, he allowed this illusion or dream to take over his mind. Now, this flimsy delusion has been shattered after finding two of his teammates already deceased before even finding the bus itself. With this in mind, he tried to comfort Tanaka with some soothing words, but had nothing to spare, as he was in dire need of them as well. Although he did not show the internal pain he was experiencing as much as Tanaka, inside, Ennoshita was nearly destroyed, reduced to a shell of who he once was simply by witnessing these two deaths.

 _What are we going to do?_ This was the only thought running through Ennoshita’s mind as he sat silently by Tanaka’s side, listening to the soft sobs of his friend lying in the mud before him. _What are we going to do? Ennoahita asked again as he sat back in the mud and reached up his good hand to wipe at hjs eyes. After he was done with that he slowly maoved his hand away and placed his forhead in his palm and started to weep silently._

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“Asahi! Oi, Asahi, come on snap out of it…” Kageyama yelled as he kneeled in the mud in front of the third year, right arm sagging with his sprained fingers brushing up against the mud below. “Come on Asahi, snap out of it!” Kageyama protested as he listened to the third year mutter things like, “everything is fine”,  “it’ll all be okay”, “everyone is okay…” or “It’s just a bad dream” over and over again to himself, arms wrapped loosely around his knees that his chin rested upon, as he rocked slowly back and forth eyes focusing in and out. “Asahi…please, we have to go find the oth-” Kageyama coughed, scowling from the pain that emitted from his right arm when it accidentally brushed up against his body from the powerful coughs. Nevertheless Kageyama kept his eyes focused on Asahi as he simply withdrew the pain and choked back a cry.

When Kageyama first woke up, he immediately knew something was wrong with his arm. Something about his arm felt very wrong as he tried to move it, but when he tried, pain shot through him like lightning, and he knew it was broke, for even the tiniest movement sent flames through his veins. He registered pain and managed to bite back a scream that wanted to emerge. Kageyama felt annoyed by this hindrance as he noticed Asahi trembling near him, with his back against a tree, arms stretched out in front of his body and knees tucked inward towards his head, fingers twitching uncontrollably.

The first year tried calling out to Asahi but his voice felt so weak, even to his own ears, as Asahi made no movement of even hearing him through the rain.

Kageyama then staggered up to a standing position, to walk over to the third year, but in his process of standing, he felt himself slipping backwards on the mud below his feet. “Shit!” he yelled as he felt himself slide, and in that fraction of a second, he decided to put his hand out to stop his fall only to swear even louder when the arm he used to stop his fall made a snapping noise, and he landed on his bad elbow. He hit the ground with his right arm behind him, and tried to bite back the another scream that tugged at his throat but failed, when instead a strangled high pitched queal came out, one that Kageyama himself would never be caught dead making any other time.

Kageyama turned so that he was on his knees in the mud holding his right arm with his left and curling his body inwards towards the said pain. He attempted calling out to Asahi again, this time a louder more pained, “Asahi!...” but still nothing except the light murmurs came from the third year as he stayed rocking slightly, eye still transfixed on the ground by his toes. Most of the mutterings weren’t even coherent to begin with though, something about his ear, and people on the bus then trying to convince him things were fine. Overall Asahi looked fine other than the obvious shock his body was experiencing so why was he acting so strange. Kageyama sat bewildered by all the sudden things happening at once as he cleared his throat and took a deep breath before yelling again, hoping that his teammate would break out of his trance and help him up off the muddy ground, “ASAHI!” he screamed from the spot he sat, clutching his broken arm, refusing his tears that wanted to spread. Every time he called out to Asahi though, the tall third year just sat, unmoving from his hypnotic-like position and continued to stare, eyes not focusing as if he was not just staring at the ground but through the ground, barely even blinking.

“Asahi, come on! A little help would be nice!” Kageyama spat, trying his best to maneuver to a standing position again.

“Come on snap out of it…” Kageyama yelled, first kneeling in the mud, right arm sagging with his sprained fingers brushing up against the mud below yet again, then making a motion to stand. “Come on Asahi, snap out of it!” Kageyama irked as he listened to the third year mutter the same few lines he'd been repeating since first waking up. It was as if Asahi was a broken record, saying the same lines over and over again in a constant repeated fashion. Asahi's arms wrapped loosely around his knees that his chin rested upon, as he rocked slowly back and fourth continuing everafter the same phrases as if in some kind of weird cult or trance. Kageyama finally managed to correct his footing enough to settle into a weak standing position, his knees almost buckling just from this simple motion. However, as he stood, he needed to catch himself from falling forward by stepping up the slope with one leg, causing his disheveled arm to sway, sending shockwaves of agony catapulting up from his fingertips all the way to his head. “Dammit!” He grimaced, as the muscles on Kageyama’s right side tightened and he contracted a pounding headache. For a moment, anger seemed to radiate from Kageyama as he quietly cursed through his clenched teeth. He stumbled forward toward Asahi, absolutely fuming both from being ignored, and from the pain he was experiencing. Still gnashing his teeth, he settled in front of Asahi, whose head was now slightly elevated from his knees and was staring off into the distance with a blank expression. Kageyama now stood in a somewhat slumped over standing position, allowing his shoulders to rise and fall while he breathed heavily and clenched his left fist tightly. “Goddammit, Asahi, we have to go!” Kageyama barked loudly at the third year that was now right in front of his face before letting his fury get the best of him. As Kageyama spoke, he instinctively stooped down with his left hand raised to the side before quickly and aggressively swinging it forward, striking Asahi square in the cheek with his palm.

A loud bang emanated from Asahi’s cheek as his head turned to the side and vibrations from the collision flew up Kageyama’s arm. His arm remained stiff in the air, crossed over his right side, as he looked down at his senior for a moment before immediately changing his disposition.  His arm loosed, lowering but still crossed in front of him, and his face, previously flushed with almost pure rage, converted to an expression of surprise and, to a lesser extent, fear. He could hardly believe what he had just done to someone older than he, that he held is such high regard. _Did I actually just slap Asahi?!_ He thought, face making a weird combination of wanting to flush bright red in embarrassment to paling completely. His jaw dropped and his mouth hung open as if he was about to apologize but nothing came forth and he remained frozen in place as Asahi turned his head up to look at Kageyama. He had finally stopped muttering to himself and just stared up at Kageyama’s stunned face, as if trying to simply discern who it was that was standing in front of him.

“Kageyama?” Asahi slowly questioned, confusion plainly evident on his face. “You’re okay? You…” he trailed off staring back at the ground. Kageyama stepped back, half-expecting Asahi to scold him for striking him so suddenly. However, based on Asahi’s jubilant and alleviated expression, he either did not know that he was even struck or did not mind in lieu of seeing Kageyama alive in front of him. “When I woke up you... You didn’t get up… and I thought for sure you were…” Asahi rasped and seemed to get a hitch in his throat before trailing off once more.

Kageyama cleared his throat and collected his nerves, relieved that Asahi was not scolding or berating him. “You thought I was dead?” Kageyama finally responded, turning away from Asahi. In light of what he had just done, Kageyama felt ashamed to look directly at Asahi, who was gazing back at the first year with heartfelt concern and joy in his eyes. Quietly, Kageyama murmured to the formerly hysteric boy, “Sorry.” Clearing his throat once more and turning back toward Asahi, Kageyama began to explain, “You know, I’ve been trying to call you for a while now…you...never answered”

Confused, Asahi furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the ground between the two of them. “Really…” he said so softly that Kageyama had to almost strain his ears to hear it. Feeling guilty, Asahi jerked his head back up to look directly at Kageyama before clapping his hands together in front of himself and bowing slightly, “I’m Sorry!” He yelled this much louder than anything else he had before and winced putting his hand up towards his ear.

Kageyama still felt something gnawing at his conscious as Asahi did this, believing that he should be the one to prostrate himself. He stepped forward and knelt down carefully so that his head was about at the same level as Asahi’s. “It’s fine, don’t worry,” Kageyama clearly spoke, letting his unhurt arm rest on his knee, “I'm alright and that’s all that matters”. Asahi coughed, head hanging lower now, forehead resting against his knees and both hands now moved up to cover his ears. After a few hacks he resumed the position he had prior and moved his left hand up to the side of his face, rubbing his cheek and ear, the latter of which was covered by his wet and untied hair. “So you didn’t find anyone else then?” Kageyama asked, breaking him out of his train of thoughts, though just by the looks of how Asahi was reacting he knew that the third year never moved from that spot prior, so finding anyone would have been hard. Asahi just continued to rub at his ear as the question Kageyama just asked though, making no acknowledgement of even hearing the first year.

“Huh?” Asahi responded as he saw words coming out of Kageyama's mouth but only heard muffled sounds by the time it reached his ears. “What did you say?” He sadly admitted as Kageyama looked more closely at the ear that Asahi was rubbing. Ignoring the previous question since Kageyama already mentally answered it in his head be resolved to just asking about Asahi’s injuries.

“What’s wrong with you?” Kageyama questioned not repeating the question from before since he knew the answer already. The timid third year though just seemed ashamed and shrugged.

“I don’t know…I just…” Asahi trailed off leaving Kageyama staring questionably at him. _I can’t tell him. I don’t want to burden anyone with my problems…_ Asahi thought as he looked long and hard look at the arm that Kageyama was holding weakly. _Kageyama already has enough on  his plate as it is, he doesn’t need me whining to him as well. God why am I so weak!_ Asahi mentally cursed at himself as he thought of what he should tell Kageyama. _Should I lie and tell him everything is ok though...or should I come out clean and tell him about my back pain, or maybe even the fact that I can only hear well in one ear?_ He knew, deep down, that he should tell his friend all this but chose to keep silent for the first year's sake.

“Asahi…” Kageyama began again as he sorrowfully glimpsed down towards his own hurt arm, his entire lower half covered in wet mud and freezing cold as he shivered and moved to brush off his wet body with his good arm then looking back up at Asahi. Kageyama scoffed because he didn’t get an answer out of Asahi  and decided to forget the question and resort to just getting him up and moving. “Come on, we need to go” Kageyama stated as he moved aside so Asahi could stand. Asahi, noticing the slight change in Kageyama’s features took this as a sign of gratitude meaning that he won’t have to tell him anything after all. Asahi gulped and sucked in some air as he mentally prepared himself to stand, shakily at first, but he ended up getting it on his first try. Once standing, he seemed lost as he stared off in the distance for moments more before finally glancing over at the first year.

“So…” the timid third year started, glancing at Kageyama’s injuries, “what’s wrong with you? Are you okay Kageyama?” Asahi asked snapping his train of thoughts back into place and watching out for his wounded underclassman.

“Well…” the first year started as the both started trudging in the same direction finally moving somewhere, “Unlike you, I know that i’m in pain and I don’t have trouble telling you what hurts” Kageyama slyly confessed, eyes glaring at Asahi as he felt a sting of pain but continued staring at Kageyama nevertheless. “Well,” he began again, “I just woke up from this hell about a few minutes ago. I tried calling to you but you didn’t answer.” Kageyama replied as Asahi’s saddened eyes looked up towards the dark sky, light rain now hitting his face and weaving down towards his chin. “My arm hurts like hell and it’s definitely broken…” he continued  sighing as he took his good arm and clutched the upper bicep of his right arm, “But” he started again rubbing his right bicep and slightly cringing as he watched it dangle off to the side for a moment, “other than that I have a slight headache and my two fingers are sprained but overall, I think I’m fine. It doesn’t seem life threatening” Kageyama finished as Asahi just rubbed his ear in response, eyes focused on the first year. “What about you Asahi? You seem fine to me but I know you’re not. No one got out of this with no injury so stop hiding your pain and tell me! Plus, you seem off…like sometimes you don’t even answer me when I talk to you, and your slouched position tells me that something is wrong with your back.” Kageyama bluntly stated worry clearly visible on his face as he scanned his teammate.

“I’m-” Asahi started straining his voice a tad as the pain in his upper back and shoulder that he had when first waking, and that had subsided for the time being, returned and flared up again making his face slightly twist in pain.

Feeling the tear in his shoulder muscle from earlier made him feel like someone had poisoned him, with each step or movement he took he could feel his strength physically leave his body and deplete. That’s why when he woke up against the tree he knew that his body was too weak to move. In all honestly though, it wasn’t until later that he even noticed Kageyama there. Kageyama was wearing dark clothes and seemingly blended in with the ground under the night sky as he lay, as if tucked in under a tree, a few meters from him. So noticing him was a difficult task for the already delirious third year. When he managed to finally see Kageyama near him, he made a move to go see if he was alright, but his back muscle near his shoulder seemed to stretch and tear, causing massive amounts of agony. He yelped from the pain that arose, tears forming in his eyes, and tried to endure it so he could call over to Kageyama. His voice though was so shocked and depleted, thus using it was pointless, since only a whispered voice could be heard. Asahi assumed the worse as tears rained down his face from everything around him; from the emotions he felt, to the pain he was enduring, and the potential loss of a friend, all hitting him all at once. The shock of it all overtook his body rendering him immobile and potentially useless as he sat against the tree, curling his legs up into himself and wept.

Suddenly, he seemed to break from his delusional mind as he realized, looking at Kageyama, that he never answered his question from before. Although he was hurting pretty bad he didn’t want to burden the first year with any more, so for a moment he merely said nothing. He already did so much for him already, so he didn’t need more problems on his plate. Instead, Asahi did not mention the fact that his back shoulder muscle was inflamed and burning with pain, or the fact that his breathing felt tight, and that his chest was burning, or even that his ear was malfunctioning. No, he kept all of that inside again, even though it may anger the teen in front of him, but since Kageyama had his own problems to deal with, he didn’t need any more complications. Deciding that he was going to keep this information to himself, he finally replied back with a simple, “...Fine. I told you already that I’m fine” and smiled as he took his left hand and gently rubbed at his left ear.

Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows as a look of annoyance spread across his face, knowing that there was more to what Asahi was saying but just didn’t tell him. “Asahi, you can’t just hide your injuries from me.” Kageyama started saying, slightly irritated that Asahi would even try to hide his own pain. As a team focused on the principles of cohesiveness, Kageyama knew in the back of his mind that he needed to stick together with Asahi and help each other out. However, Kageyama also felt somewhat addled when it came to this concept as he was not fully aware as to the extent of the third year’s injuries. “Asahi” he began again after taking a deep breath, “ I know you’re lying about not being hurt, so tell me what’s hurting you so we can help each other out. You can’t take all the blame or burden again, I won’t let you” Kageyama stated stubbornly as Asahi’s eyes snapped up and he gulped, rubbing his back shoulder muscle wincing.

“What do you mean? N-nothing is bothering me I said I’m fine-” Asahi began trying his best to keep a steady composure but Kageyama was near impossible to lie to.

“Don’t give me that crap Asahi!” Kageyama yelled aware of his insincerity, causing Asahi to flinch at his sudden outburst. Kageyama fumed in front of him clearing his throat before stating, “ For example,” turning his body towards Asahi’s and pointing to the third year’s head with his left arm. “What’s wrong with your ear? You’ve been rubbing in the whole time I’ve been talking to you. And don’t even get me started with your hunched over position!”

            Asahi guiltily stopped rubbing his ear and huffed, preparing to tell Kageyama about his problems, yet still wanting to hold back, “Fine” he replied defeated, arms hanging down on both sides, “You’re right, I’m hurt” Asahi countered slightly irritated by the first years persistency, “but you have yourself to worry about and I have myself. Whatever injuries I have, i’ll deal with on my own” Asahi conceded actually reliving Kageyama as the younger boy heaved out a sigh of relief just by getting Asahi to admit that he’s having trouble. That wasn’t enough though, as Kageyama wanted to know to what extent he was hurt. Who knew, getting information out of Asahi would be like pulling teeth, it was tedious.

“Okay, I knew that much,” Kageyama said with a slightly irritated expression, “Why are you making this so hard Asahi? Just tell me what hurts exactly?” Kageyama snapped, causing Asahi to finally give in.

“Well, I can’t hear very well out of my left ear” He began, tirely rubbing at his ear. “It’s like…sometimes my ear just decides to go completely out and sometimes I can’t hear anything at all and other times there is a high pitched ringing the appears.” He answered honestly, no point in lying anymore as they continued their slow trudge towards where the bus should be.

“Okay…” Kageyama slowly said as if thinking out loud to himself, “Anything else?”

“My shoulder hurts like hell and i think I tore my muscle… It’s like my arm and back are on fire all the time and my chest really hurts making it hard to breathe sometimes.” Asahi complained stopping and reaching up with his good arm and gripped his shirt in front of his chest. This action caused Kageyama to stop as well and look at him, and for a moment the two stood in silence, Kageyama just staring at the older boy. Asahi though quickly changed the situation from one of despair to a more lighter tone by unclenching his hand that gripped his shirt and waved it apologetically in front of him, eyes closing for a moment. “But seriously you don’t need to worry about me, I’ll handle it. Okay Kageyama?”

Kageyama’s expression slightly changed from concerned to slightly horrified to hear about all the things Asahi tried to keep hidden from him but before he could even respond to anything he said, a faint far-off shout emitted through the air and made Kageyama’s muscles freeze up as he almost fell on the slippery wet ground yet again. Caught off-guard by the sudden outburst, Kageyama whipped his head from side to side trying to locate the source of the shriek. Asahi caught sight of Kageyama from the corner of his vision and asked in a very confused and concerned manner, “What are you doing Kageyama? Are you ok?”

Kageyama’s eyes widened as he thought for half a second that maybe he was hearing things but shook his head to discard that notion. _No I know I heard someone scream…_ he thought, eyeing the upperclassman as the lethargic Asahi wearily began to look around, trying to find whatever Kageyama was looking for. “Did you just hear that?!” Kageyama said in a hushed tone, listening intently for the noise again. Since the sound was so sudden and short, Kageyama couldn't exactly tell where it came from at first and was hoping to hear it once more.

“Huh? …Sorry, no. Actually, wait… What was the question again?” Asahi asked as his fingers trembled, still moving his head around and staring off into the distance with a blank expression. He stopped and pulled his hand away from his left ear, which he had been cupping, to find a smear of blood spread across the palm. This did not surprise him at all and considering the smear was rather thin, he did not bother to make note of it to Kageyama, who had yet to answer Asahi. He also noticed when looking at his hand, which was being assaulted by rainfall before, had actually diminished to simple and small droplets. However, this thought did not remain in his mind for long, as simply staring at his own hand made him lose his focus on balance, almost causing him to fall over while standing still.

Like a hunter tracking his prey Kageyama slowly turned in place, not bothering to repeat himself again to Asahi. The sounds of the forest seemed to amplify but nothing more could be heard that resembled the noise he had heard just a moment prior. He did not want to risk saying another word just in case he masked the faint sound and Asahi, still slightly unglued from his own consciousness, still had enough sense to not interrupt the silence that Kageyama was trying so hard not to break. After about 30 more seconds, the shriek returned louder and more pronounced than before, emanating from the left of where the two currently stood. He could tell now that this yell was less like a scream for help or assistance and more like one infused with anger.  “That!” Kageyama said, stepping toward Asahi, “Tell me you heard that!”

Asahi seemed to break from his semi-trance that he had since waking up and nodded in agreement, looking up into the canopy of the trees above. “Yeah…what was that?” Asahi said in a monotone and withdrawn manner “An animal maybe? It seemed pretty far away…”

 _I know his hearing is bad right now, but there is no way that scream was that far away_ , Kageyama thought as he looked in bewilderment at Asahi. “It was obviously a person, Asahi,”  Kageyama dictated as if he were talking to someone more like Hinata, “It sounded like they’re right around the corner! What are you talking about ‘far away’?” He clearly understood that Asahi had yet to fully recover from whatever was plaguing his mind, but he was starting to get a little frustrated with the stupefied man before him.

“Around the corner?” Asahi huffed out in an almost whisper-like wheeze, looking around himself and the boy next to him. Strangely, Asahi looked more worried than anything else, almost like whatever or whomever was yelling was about to jump out and attack him. He crouched ever so slightly and bowed his elbows outward to hold his hands out in front of him, readying himself for what he seemed to believe was inevitable.

“Yes,” Kageyama bluntly said with an antagonistic growl masked behind his teeth, trying his best to hold back his vexation. He turned away, facing in the direction that he heard the noise and continued to speak to Asahi, “Come on, they shouldn't be too far from us.”

“Far from the bus? How do you know?” Asahi asked, misunderstanding the first year as his hearing became muddles during the last part of Kageyama’s statement as if he were underwater. He cringed, and his forehead wrinkled as he tried to bring both of his hands up to his left ear but then stopped halfway into this motion the moment he felt his left shoulder flare up once again. Asahi’s mind was completely scattered, to Kageyama’s dismay, and his motions indicated this fact clearly.

Kageyama was about to step away until he heard Asahi’s reply, prompting him to turn and give Asahi a perplexed and astonished look. “What? No...I said-” Kageyama began, but was cut short by another riotous roar that rang through the trees, this one louder than the others and more shrill.  Unlike the previous two, Kageyama believed he could make out a word that was in this scream: “Scared.” _That can’t be good…_ Kageyama thought as he felt a slight sense of whiplash, the result of the crash and sharply spinning his head from side to side while attempting to locate the voice earlier. This time, Kageyama had no doubts as to the direction of the scream and vied to rally Asahi to search for the source. “That!” he accentuated as he pointed to where he thought the voice was coming from with his good hand, “You heard that, right?!”

“Yeah…” Asahi answered, rubbing the back of his own neck with his right hand. He and Kageyama both turned, each looking at separate directions that were 90 degrees from one another. “I think it was this way” both he and Kageyama said in unison, each pointing or indicating in their respectively chosen directions.

Kageyama rolled his eyes and grabbed Asahi’s sleeve to pull him in the direction that Kageyama knew to be correct.  “J-just follow me. My ears are working better.” Kageyama announced loud enough so the third year could hear him through his one ear. Asahi stumbled at the sudden change from static to dynamic but agreed to follow Kageyama, turning so to more appropriately trek through the night in the appropriate direction.

The boys began to sluggishly hike through the mud, approaching the area where Kageyama heard the screaming and commotion from before. As they started to move, the rain died down completely, allowing moonlight to flood through a gap in the clouds above and illuminate parts of the landscape ahead of them, although the light was not able to penetrate through some of the thicker sections of trees. This made it easier for them to travel but it also started to worry Kageyama more, as the screams, which were faint but noticeable before, should be must easier to hear with the lack of rainfall. However, Kageyama heard nothing more, prompting him to call out into the night, “Hello? Hello?! Where are you?” No response reached Kageyama’s ears aside from the dripping water slowly falling from the leaves above into the mud.  Furthermore, his yells were rather weak from yelling at Asahi just after waking up and so he cleared his throat before attempting another call. Though his voice was now a little hoarse, he could make a much better yell that seemed to echo and bounce off the surrounding trees, “Answer me! Hello? Hello?!”

This time, a voice answered Kageyama’s cries, “--lo? Hello! Hey w-...-ere!” The voice was louder than the ones from before due to Kageyama and Asahi’s newfound proximity to the source, but it was difficult to completely discern what was being said exactly. Furthermore, Kageyama could easily tell that the voice was different to the yells from earlier, indicating that there was more than one person ahead of them.

Asahi seemed surprised to have heard a response back from the void ahead, but was visually exhilarated at the prospect at finding somebody else. He and Kageyama exchanged glances at one another before accelerating their pace toward the focus. “I think that was Ennoshita!” Kageyama said to Asahi before yelling out loud again, “Ennoshita, we’re coming! Don’t move!” Though the voice had cut out, the few words that were clear were enough for Kageyama to easily tell that the voice he heard belonged to the second year.  Like Asahi, he was also excited to find somebody else alive, as many of his thoughts revolved around the notion that many on the bus would likely not walk away like himself. However, unlike Asahi, Kageyama was also worried about the other scream that he heard, and what prompted it, considering that it sounded more angry than anything else. “Keep talking, we’ll find you!” He yelled, disparity creeping through his speech.

As they moved quickly through the maze of trees and the sludge between them, the voice repeatedly yelled out “Here! Over here!” as Kageyama had commanded.  This made it much simpler to direct themselves through the trees and as they moved, they also passed through an area with a significant depression path in the ground, which Kageyama assumed to be the trail of the bus. Taking a note of the location of this path relative to where he was going, he continued to move with Asahi close behind him, moving rapidly while both trying not to jossle their hurt arms much.

After a little less than a minute, they saw a figure approaching them on their route which they easily confirmed to be Ennoshita. “Hey, Kageyama, Asahi! Over here!” Ennoshita shouted as they each approached each other, Ennoshita hobbling and moving slightly slower than the other two. “Oh thank god you guys are okay! Wait, _are_ you okay?” he reworded after getting a better view of the two boys in front of him. They looked very disheveled and were both holding their hurt arms in place after slowing and stopping in front of Ennoshita, though compared to everyone else he had seen, they looked to be in great shape. However, Ennoshita was still concerned, as he had essentially been forced into this paternal position of taking care of everyone he has found as he was one of the most healthy to walk away from the crash.

“Yeah, we’re fine,”  Kageyama said, letting go of his own arm and looking at Asahi, who displayed more pain from their short jaunt, “Mostly, anyway. How about yourself, your hand doesn’t look too good.” He noticed when briefly looking his teammate over that Ennoshita’s hand lay limp to the side and was contorted in an unnatural directions, both the fingers and the wrist itself broken. Asahi crouched down to the ground with his head buried in his arm that was still holding his pained shoulder, reeling from his disturbed injuries.  

Ennoshita was visibly perturbed by Asahi’s actions and stepped forward to see what was wrong, “Asahi, wha-”

“He’s fine, Ennoshita,” Kageyama decisively interrupted, a serious look upon his face, “He just can’t move his shoulder much and he’s a little out of it right now.” Not letting Ennoshita respond to this information, Kageyama continued, focused intensely on his objective, “Have you found anyone else? So far i’ve only come across Asahi, but I heard someone yell over here.” Upon saying this, Ennoshita looked down and to the left, turning slightly away from Asahi and Kageyama. He did not reply for a couple seconds, which prompted Kageyama to state his suspicion as fact, “That wasn’t you, was it.” His tone was less commanding than usual and instead dipped more into dread for what was to come. Furthermore, seeing only Ennoshita here to meet them only made his nerves worse as he waited for Ennoshita’s reply.

Asahi had recovered from his pain enough to resume standing, although he still gripped his shoulder tightly, trying to prevent it from being irritated once more. He looked at Kageyama as he questioned Ennoshita, then turned to face the second year. “Hm? Are you, hnn-” Asahi began, groaning in the middle of his sentence as he adjusted his grip, “Are you with someone else?” He looked around Ennoshita, as if expecting to see someone small like Hinata or Yachi hiding behind the second year. His mind was still running with simple thoughts and did not exactly piece together how Kageyama knew that someone else was around. He did not have any short-term memory loss or any other cognitive issues from the previous crash, he simply was having a difficult time focusing and thinking about a lot of concepts. He was aware of this fact, and was thankful that he had Kageyama, and now Ennoshita, around to help him.

Quietly and dolefully, Ennoshita answered the boys’ questions, “I uhh…. I found Tanaka… and-”

Before Ennoshita could continue his sentence, Asahi stepped up and grabbed Ennoshita on the shoulder, turning him back towards the third-year, “Tanaka?! You found Tanaka?!” Asahi spoke fast and excitedly, overjoyed to hear that Tanaka was nearby. He moved past Ennoshita and started to move quickly in the direction that Ennoshita came. With his newfound speed and adrenaline, he began to call out into the night, “Tanaka! Where are you? I’m coming!”

“Asahi, no!” Ennoshita shouted, attempting to stop the third year from progressing, “Kageyama stop him!” He started to chase Asahi with Kageyama, who was taken aback at first by Ennoshita’s command, but tried his best to stop him. They tried their best to catch up to Asahi, but he was beginning to outpace them with energy that neither of the other two expected he would have left. Ennoshita was desperate to stop Asahi from finding Tanaka and the deceased Noya, afraid of the heartbroken and soul-crushing reaction Asahi would inevitably have once he reached them. Out of options and just out of arm’s reach of Asahi, Ennoshita instinctively dived at Asahi, attempting to forcibly stop the third year. Unfortunately, his dive turned into little more than a fall forward as he had little-to-no traction in the mud and ended up splashing to the ground. Kageyama, who had caught up to Ennoshita and was about to pass him, tripped over Ennoshita’s flailing arms and fell to the ground as well. “Asahi, stop! Come back!”

“Ahh, dammit!” Kageyama exclaimed, clenching his teeth as the muscles in his arms clenched. The fall had unintentionally caused him to land slightly on his broken forearm, sending white blinding pain up to his head. Both boys were on their stomachs in the mud and Kageyama had landed with one leg on top of Ennoshita’s back. “Fuck! What the fuck, Ennoshita?” he said, yelling at the second-year who was trying to get Kageyama’s leg off of him. “What’s the matter with you, why’d we have to stop him?”

As he spoke, Ennoshita had gotten Kageyama’s leg off of him and what trying to get back up, still hearing Asahi call out in the distance for Tanaka. “We can’t let him see Noya like that!” he admitted, using a tree to shakily stand to his feet.

“Wait, what? Noya, I thought you sai-” Kageyama began, moving to his knees but still on the ground as Ennoshita took steps forward from the tree.

“NOOOOO!!” Asahi sharply screeched yards away from the two he had broken from.

The two froze at hearing this disparaging cry echo through the moonlit-outlined landscape. Though Kageyama was still slightly angry, both shuddered in fear. “Oh no...” Ennoshita said softly to himself but loud enough for Kageyama to hear. The first year opened his mouth to ask Ennoshita about what Asahi must have found, but decided against it as he already assumed what would be the answer. Ennoshita turned slowly to Kageyama and silently offered a hand to help him up off the ground, which he accepted quietly in kind. Nothing needed to be said between the two men who had begun to move forward once again, albeit much slower this time. As Ennoshita limped forward, the sprain in his leg affecting him again, the first year looked at his friend’s face. Although it was splattered with mud, he could still see the sadness that was washed over it and could even tell that he was about to cry, if he wasn’t already tearing up.

Kageyama decided to help Ennoshita, who was struggling a bit, and put his arm around the second-year’s back, pushing Ennoshita’s arm up and over his shoulders. Together, they pushed on through the dirt and the grime with increased stability, walking slowly towards their destination party due to Ennoshita’s limp and partly because they dreaded seeing what they were hearing. As they approached, they heard loud sobbing and sloshing resonating from around the crowd of trees in front of them, which they correctly assumed to be Asahi. Regretfully, they pushed onward and around the small thicket to verify their assumptions, seeing Asahi kneeling on the ground before the deceased Noya, slamming his forearm into the ground powerfully. "No, no no no no NO!" His entire body took part in the execution of his swings as he raised his arm high in the air and used every muscle he could to bring it back down to the earth colliding his forearm flush with the ground to make a significant splash. He was crying openly and vehemently, saying words that came out as nothing but incomprehensible nonsense, as his body quaked and shook.

Tanaka was still laying on the ground next to Noya but had stopped muttering, opting instead to simply stare and cry at his best friend, hoping that he would just stand up and announce lively that he was okay. He didn’t even seem to notice the presence of either Asahi nor Kageyama, or even Ennoshita’s return, as everything that mattered to him now in this world could fit within a small radius around himself. The upper muscles of Tanaka’s hurt leg twitched from over-exertion , but he also did not seem no notice or care about this pain as he had before, since the mental pain and anguish he felt right now was already too much to bear.

Asahi continued to slam into the ground, although the interval between poundings increased significantly.  “WHY?!” he screamed again, this time quieter than before but still loud enough to cause Ennoshita and Kageyama to wince. He slammed into the ground once more and hung his head down, pressing the top of it into the mud, almost as if bowing. “Why?” He yelled again, the volume decreasing once more as he lifted his arms slowly and shakily into the sky, reaching as high as he could before crashing it back down into the mud. This was one of his most powerful hits and it even caused him to bruise and sprain his arm, as his many slams had cleared layers of mud in that area and he was now hitting the dirt and rocks beneath. Gradually, the boy tipped forward and fell to his side into the mud, facing Noya but on the opposite side from Tanaka. “Noy...ya…” He said, voice cracking and uneasy as he tried to reach his hand forward toward the boy, hoping just like Tanaka that Noya would straighten himself out and greet them with unbridled enthusiasm just like he normally does. Lazily, his rattling arm fell to the ground before him, Asahi now lying in a sort of fetal position with one arm extended outward, “....N-No….”

Asahi lay there with tears flowing out of his eye not seeped in mud, looking at Noya just like Tanaka. Kageyama and Ennoshita bore witness to this site and both had started to cry as well, although Kageyama was trying his best to stand firm as he was still assisting his friend and he personally felt that he needed to be stable as can be at this point. Ennoshita slowly slumped to the ground and sat carefully down, staring down into his own lap and letting his tears rain down onto his legs and arms. _As much as i’d like to help,_ Kageyama thought to himself, _it’s already too late now. They all need to work through this._ “...Fuck…” Kageyama whispered out loud to himself, walking away a few steps from the scene. Acting like a watchguard, he stood with his back toward the three other boys and stared off into the woods, trying his best to think of what to do now or what to do once they have recovered enough to move again. However, at this time, he still questioned if they should even _try_ to move again as they all have significant injuries plaguing them, both physical and mental. _For now, we’ll just stay here_ , he thought, trying to think as logically as possibly to avoid having to completely process Noya’s gruesome death for fear of ending up like the other two. As he stared off into the distance, he spoke aloud again to himself, “I’ll think of something, I have to.”

For quite some time, the four remained completely silent, aside from their soft crying that did eventually settle into silent tears. The stillness that engulfed the area around them all seemed to seep into their bones and caused each one to feel a mental exhaustion from the events that just went down. The four of them felt like they too were dead, as if all of the physical exhaustion and sadness combined into one lethal concoction. To them, hope was a simple illusion, the thought of which being a cruel jest, and the denseness that surrounded the area seemed to further this dismal notion. That was until a single noise brought some sort of hope back in Ennoshita and Kageyama. A simple bell tone reverberated from beyond the line of trees behind the sitting second year; it was a phone. A _working_ phone.

Ennoshita bounced up excitedly catching Kageyama off guard for a second as he announced loudly, “Everyone listen! Do you hear that phone!” Ennoshita exclaimed but the only one to respond was Kageyama as he turned and stepped quickly over toward Ennoshita. Both of them looked incredibly excited as they each wiped the tears and some residual mud off of their faces.

“Yeah,” Kageyama yelled looking over towards Asahi and Tanaka, “Come on, we need to find it before it stops ringing!” The two made no movement or attempt of even getting up when Kageyama called to them and simply stayed still in the mud. Although the third year heard the ringing this time as well as Kageyama’s attempt to rally them, his motivation to act was completely vacant as he stared at the former shell of his beloved friend, eyes too full of tears to even see and sniffling in disbelief. Ennoshita was tempted to shout at them as well, but instead let them be as he turned around and started heading in the direction of the phone, worried that they would lose track of it if they tarried any longer. Kageyama quickly turned towards Ennoshita and then back to Asahi and Tanaka, both of which seemed lost in their own world before sharply replying, “You two, stay here. We’ll be back!” With that the two of them left, Ennoshita and Kageyama moving as fast they could to grab the ringing phone before it went off.

The ringing seemed to be getting closer as the two furiously searched looking downwards for any light emitting from a screen, but found nothing of importance. After the ninth ring came, Kageyama started to fret, thinking that the would never find it, and that they would be stuck in this hell forever, slowly dying and rotting away. However, Ennoshita tripped over something soft and fell face first into the mud startling Kageyama out of his morbid thoughts. Slowly, Ennoshita got up when he noticed another ring come from somewhere by his feet. Scrambling up to his knees, ignoring the soreness from his from the fall, he noticed that what he tripped over was actually a medium-sized school bag with red handles. Ennoshita yelled out towards the first year, “Kageyama! I think the phone is in here!” As he said this, they both stopped hearing the phone as it went silent.

Kageyama turned slightly and ran towards the second year, hoping that what Ennoshita had found was in fact the location of the phone, or else they may have lost it forever. Kneeling down, he and Ennoshita opened the bag with nervous hands and Ennoshita reached inside trying to find a phone buried within the case. Excitedly, Ennoshita grabbed onto something solid and pulled it out, revealing that he was grasping onto a pair of snapped white Somy headphones. Initially, he was discouraged, but he quickly noticed that the headphones’ cord was pulled taught, wrapped around something else in the bag. Pulling up with the chord, a rectangular object with cuts and incisions along one corner fell back in the bag, cushioned within a small mass of clothing.

Kageyama grabbed at the object and wiped off the screen as fast as he could, slightly cutting his thumb in the process, verifying it to be a phone. He quickly put the phone to his cheek and loudly tried to call out for a response, “Hello, hello? Hello!” He knew that the call had probably ended, but he was desperate for a response.

Instead of a voice like he was expecting to be on the other line, he was met with silence. He yelled again and again, anger and sadness mixing together now, but before he could even say anything else, the screen lit up to show a lock screen and a missed call indicator. Slowly and regretfully he lifted his shaky hand back down as Ennoshita’s face grew rather concerned.

“What’s wrong Kageyama?” Ennoshita asked the first year who was just looking at the phone while grinding his teeth together gradually.

“...I missed the call,” he answered with a snarl, trying to tap at the screen with his thumb. Both teens glanced at the phone in front of them for a second and noticed a new notification pop up in the corner that read “Missed call from Akiteru.”

Ennoshita read this out in a monotone way before being struck by an idea. Not giving a second thought as to who this Akiteru person was, Ennoshita grabbed the phone out of Kageyama’s hands and activated the emergency call feature of the smartphone, allowing him to dial the police for the second time today. Gleefully, he noticed this time that the battery life was still at least half full, meaning that as long as he kept it dry, it would stay functional.

After only one ring, he heard a woman answer on the other side of the call and he sighed in relief. “Hello Police, what is your emergency?” she said directly and confidently.

“Hello! It’s me Chikara Ennoshita again,” He said loudly, nearly yelling. Kageyama shot Ennoshita a confused look, not knowing that Ennoshita had contacted the police already before, but let him continue, “I called earlier about the bus crash but the phone died!”

The lady on the other end gasped and faintly shouted back out towards someone else in the room that she was located, “It’s him again! That boy from the crash, I got him on line 2!” She readjusted her microphone and spoke in a clearer tone to Ennoshita, “Sir, listen to me, we are analyzing your location but the rescue squad and an ambulance has already been dispatched to find you. We only got a general 5-10 mile radius of where you might be last time, so i’m going to ask you to try to stay on the phone with me until we can pinpoint your location. The longer the better, do you understand me?” Ennoshita felt the tears sliding down his faces as he tried to mutter a thank you in return to the lady for potentially saving their lives but all that came out was heavy sobs. “Sir, sir please calm down and talk to me. Is there anyone else with you right now?” the woman inquired as typing could be heard from the other side of the line.

Kageyama could hear the woman Ennoshita was talking to and decided to answer for himself, “Yes! I’m here. My name is Tobio Kageyama,” Kageyama stated as calmly and clearly as he could while waiting for an answer to reply. It was much easier for him to act at ease now that he heard the good news from the police, like a parachute being activated during a free fall from high up in the sky.

Ennoshita pulled the phone away from his ear and activated the speakerphone so they could both better hear everything she said. “Good, good and do you have any idea of where you are or how we might find you?” The lady asked, hopeful to get some more answers as she continued to type.

“Not exactly,” Kageyama answered regretfully, “But we were heading back to our High School, Karasuno…”. His response prompted the lady to mutter something incomprehensible to what he presumed were other officers around her.

“Good! That’s very good to know, I think we have your location narrowed down now.” She said, causing smiles to form on both of the boys’ faces. For a moment they heard her muttering again to somebody before she returned to them, “From what we can tell, you seem to be off of the main road, what can you tell me about your surroundings?”

Ennoshita piped up, knowing more about the details of the crash as he had been up to the road already. “Yes ma’am! We’re down the mountain from the road, you can see the broken guardrails where we went over and a semi-truck tipped over on its side across the street.” As he explained, Kageyama was further confused as to how Ennoshita knew so much, as he had assumed that he woke up with Tanaka, “I think we’re about a half a kilometer down, but it’s very steep and very muddy with lots of trees.”

The two heard the lady speak again to somebody else, this time for longer than before as it seemed she was engaged in a small conversation. “One second,” she said to Ennoshita and Kageyama before returning to her conversation. They exchanged glances before she returned to speak to them, “Okay, a helicopter will also be dispatched to your location to help get you out of there. Now, tell me about the extent of your injuries; can you move or walk?”

Kageyama answered first, “I’m pretty sure my arm is broken ma’am, I can’t move it much and there’s this huge uh… bump on the inside of my elbow.” He was very analytical about his injury and wanted to be as clear and succinct as possible. Once he was finished, Ennoshita spoke up as well, explaining that his wrist was also probably broken and that his one leg was a bit sprained. “Other than that I think we’re okay, we can walk and move relatively fine, as long as we’re careful,” Kageyama confidently concluded.

“Okay, just to be safe, try not to move much anymore, the paramedics will be there soon. Have you found anyone else?” she asked, still being very inquisitive as to the status of the passengers of the bus.

At this time, Ennoshita remembered that the last time he talked to her, he had forgotten to mention that he was with the first years, who were now waiting on the roadside. “Earlier...” Ennoshita choked back the sobs that he held in for so long and continued. “I helped a couple of our teammates, Kei Tsukishima and Tadashi Yamaguchi, up to the road…” The second year paused for a moment before quickly yelling back into the phone, “oh and please hurry! They’re going to need help quick! Yamaguchi is... really bad; he has all of these cuts  all up and down his body and can barely even move. Tsukishima is hurt too; his leg is in pretty bad shape, but please I can't take anymore of this." Ennoshitas mild was beginning to swirl but he caught himself before anything else decided to break his thoughts. "We managed to get Yamaguchi up to the side of the road and they’re both there waiting for help.” Ennoshita explained as Kageyama listened intently, now understanding Ennoshita’s previous experiences before they met up with him.

Kageyama indicated to Ennoshita that they should start to move back toward the others to relay the good news, to which he agreed. “We also have two others with us too,” Kageyama commented while walking back they way they came as he heard the lady type something down again.

“Where are they are located?” She questioned trying her best to not put any pressure on the conversation but keep it straightforward and directed.

“Well… We were all together,” Ennoshita began, hesitant as he thought about how to explain the situation with Noya as well as Kiyoko, whom he has yet to tell anyone about yet. He decided against revealing that information now and only focused on the information that could be relevant to their rescue, “But then we heard this phone ring so Kageyama and I headed out to try to find it. When we did, we missed the call, but we used the emergency dial to call you again…” The second year rambled slowing his speech down and seemingly forgetting what he was even talking about.

Kageyama chimed in to fill in the gap that Ennoshita was unconsciously created. “We are heading back to our friends now,” Kageyama bluntly stated as Ennoshita just stared at him for a moment before finally remembering what he was talking about. His mind had become muddled lately, overstimulated by the sheer amount of distressing and heartbreaking experiences he has had to go through, now slightly alleviated by this phone call.

“Oh yeah, yeah. Thanks, Kageyama,” Ennoshita uttered as they finally could see their friends again, both of whom were exactly where they left them, lying sadly in the mud. Ennoshita held the phone close to his body and Kageyama lifted some branches out of their way with his good arm.

“Guys! We found the phone and are on the line with the police!” Ennoshita happily exclaimed but his smile faltered when he noticed the dread that continued to linger in the air around them and nobody even glanced up from their positions. Tanaka heard the news and wanted to be happy, wanted to feel joy, but his body seemed drained of all emotions and instead he sat there, just gazing at Noya, tears still running down his face. Asahi couldn’t hear them at all with his faulty hearing, although Ennoshita did not know that was why he didn’t respond. Neither Tanaka nor Asahi had ever seen a dead body before, so for their first one to be someone so close to them and so young, it did not feel fair to either one. “Guys?” Ennoshita tried again, only getting a slight response back from Asahi as he managed to muster the strength and turn his head and look at the two, face void of any emotion. He still could not hear them, nor did he really care much for what they had to say and instead returned to staring at the libero.

“Chikara, are your friends alright?” The police lady asked after hearing the hesitation in Ennoshita’s voice and the pause that followed afterward.

“Wha- oh uh yeah...W-we’re fine…” Ennoshita hesitantly said as he just blankly stared at Noya and the two laying next to him, once again speechless in the face of the death before him. He did not intentionally lie at this point, but it was still hard for him to admit out loud that his friend lay crushed and twisted in the mud.

Kageyama realized that Ennoshita would not admit this and grabbed the phone out of the second year’s hands. He cleared his throat, shut off the speakerphone function and put the phone to his cheek, “Ahem. The two we left earlier are fine; they’re hurt obviously, one has a really bad looking leg by the looks of it, but they’re not bleeding too much...or maybe... Not now? And they seem to be breathing just fine.” As he spoke, he was walking slightly away from the scene back to the position he stood in earlier, staring off into the woods. He heard the woman on the other side start to speak again, saying something about being happy to hear that, but interrupted her to explain the full situation, “We found another earlier though... He...he didn’t make it,” he said as he stared at the broken and pale Noya, “...His name was Yu Nishinoya, a second year. The others haven’t been able to completely deal with it yet...”

Although Kageyama was attempting to sound strong and composed, even the operator could tell that he was hiding back his own emotions behind his strained speech. Sadly, she tried to comfort the boy, “I’m sorry, sir. The paramedics should be there soon, they might be able to save him.”

Kageyama sniffed, trying to keep his emotions in after hearing that offer, knowing that there was nothing they would be able to do to bring Noya back from death. “I-I… I don’t think so, ma’am...” With this, the dam finally broke inside of Kageyama and he started to cry openly. Before, he was not talking about or even saying anything about Noya to anyone else, which helped him keep his emotions in check. However, now that he was actually talking about it, he couldn’t hold back any longer. Desperately, he pleaded to the woman for help, “P-please… Wa… What d-do we do?! I don.. Don’t e-even know a-anymore...” Almost every word he spoke was with a sob, prompting Ennoshita to look over at the first year, never before seeing Kageyama show this much emotion before.

            The woman paused and said some words to people she was with, giving time for Ennoshita to walk over and put his hand on Kageyama’s back, showing his support as both tried to recover. She returned quickly and spoke to Kageyama, who still had not turned the speakerphone back on, “Sir, I know it's going to be hard, but i’m going to ask you to stay right where you are.” Both boys were a little shocked at this, but continued to listen as she explained, “I know you might want to go and find everyone else, but as you’ve said, you’re all already very hurt. Even if you can walk, you could hurt yourselves even more if something goes wrong and we don’t want to risk that.”

Ennoshita could hear the majority of what the woman said despite not having the speakerphone turned on due to the silence in which they stood. He moved his hand up, laid it loosely on Kageyama’s shoulder, and gave him a confident nod of approval, agreeing with what the woman proposed. “...O-ok, we’ll stay h-here,” Kageyama said, still sobbing but trying to swallow his emotions once more.

The two moved over to their friends in the mud and looked at each other, exchanging nods. Ennoshita took off his jacket and laid it upon Noya’s body to cover it up, hoping that it might help Tanaka and Asahi recover or return to reality, though they still laid there looking at the now-covered Noya. They sighed and sat down together on the incline next to a tree as Kageyama spoke once more to the operator, “We’ll stay r-right here… P-Please come quick…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided that I think I'm going to name this story "Rolling Thunder" and just put like an A.K.A Dancing in the Meadow of Fire and Death. LOL Anyway sorry for the wait thanks for being AWESOME fans!!!! Please Comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~
> 
> *Aug. 4 about two days after posting this i edited a few things in the beginning. It's not much but I did fix a few words and sentences that we messed up and added a few.*

** Chapter 7  **

“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi whispered, head laying against Tsukishima’s shoulder. “Tsukki are you awake?” he asked again body rising and falling with great difficulty in his slouched up position against Tsukishima’s right shoulder. Yamaguchi twitched, trying to reposition himself yet every position he tried just seemed to aggravate his body more and more as some of the cuts and gashes on his side reopened. He cringed and breathed very loudly, weakly shuffling his body back up before he fell over completely. He had already lost a lot of blood from earlier, and the cuts in his right side seemed to heal enough to at least cause them to close and coagulate, but with all the shifting and moving around he’d been doing lately he seemed to have opened some of them back up. One major one right above his hip was causing the most damage to the already battered boy as the wound opened back up and started oozing out again. Yamaguchi never did find anything to cover himself with so he just had to force himself to stay awake long enough for help to arrive, which was proving very difficult right now. Still, he forced himself to stay awake the whole time and talk to Tsukishima. He was glad that he at least had someone to talk to, better for him that it was actually his childhood best friend. Though Tsukishima would never admit it out loud, he did appreciate the company that Yamaguchi provided. His voice alone, kept him up and awake, which if he was going to survive this, he needed to stay awake.

Earlier, when the three of them first made it back up to the road, Ennoshita told the other two that he was going to rest them against the part of the guardrail that wasn’t broken and twisted so that they could lean their backs against it and wait for help. Together, they walked about a dozen meters away from the site of the crash so that they still had the light from the truck’s tail lights to illuminate them somewhat but also so that the two first years were far enough away from the dead drunken man that provoked Ennoshita’s rage previously. Carefully the second year, with Tsukishima’s help, had lowered Yamaguchi down, though the first year was not much help considering the state of his leg. One of Yamaguchi’s gashes on his right side brushed up against the cold wet metal of the guardrail, feeling the steel burn his wounds like a searing hot iron. Though he was physically no more injured than prior to sitting down, the pain from touching the rail at that moment made his eyes go mostly white as if he were to pass out, but he managed to hold on to his consciousness securely.

Tsukishima was not able to lower Yamaguchi down completely and relied mostly on Ennoshita to help his friend, as he could not kneel down with his broken leg. Despite this, he did everything he could to help and then, once Yamaguchi yelped out in pain and Ennoshita ensured that the black-haired boy was still conscious, Ennoshita helped Tsukishima as well. The tall first year slightly winced in pain from his leg but bit his lower lip to try and keep a straight face. Ennoshita tried to help him in a way that did not aggravate his leg as he set him down next to Yamaguchi’s side that wasn’t hurt. After this, the second year said a few words, and was off to track the rest of the team down the mountainside. That was about a half hour ago.

            Upon hearing his name weakly coming from Yamaguchi, Tsukishima turned his head somewhat and answered, “Yeah? What is it Yamaguchi?” with a gruffly pained expression as he lifted his left arm up to his forehead and massaged the ache that lingered there.

            “I was just thinking…” Yamaguchi pondered, taking a deep breath and letting it out, “How do you think the others are doing? I mean… Do you think they will all be okay?” Yamaguchi innocently asked, trying his best to stay optimistic even after everything he has been through already. Tsukishima’s eyes closed momentarily as his hand that was gently rubbing his temple, lowered to cover his eyes.

            There were not many times in which Tsukishima was tasked with answering a hard question, he was very smart and the top of his class so answers came easy to him. However, today was different. Not only did Tsukishima not know the answer but he didn’t know how to answer it either. This question was one with many possibilities, all of which he did not know for certain which was correct or even the most likely, and the amount of unknowns was overwhelming. There was no simple formula, no way of actually knowing how they were doing without being there to witness it, nothing. He thought long and hard, yet still did not know how to answer such an ordinarily simple question.

“I…” he began but closed his mouth and lifted his hand back down off his eyes as they gradually opened glancing over at where Yamaguchi was, as he continued his thought, “I don’t know honestly. Given that we seemed to be the closest to the top and we look the way we do…” He paused, glancing at himself and then looking as best he could at Yamaguchi who rested on his right shoulder, forgetting that no matter how hard he looked, he still wouldn’t see anything except blurs. Eventually, after stopping for a quick breath, he began again cautiously, “I would bet that we probably came out lucky, honestly.” As he said this he could feel Yamaguchi next to him tense up and make a noise that sounded like a small squeak, but he wanted to be as truthful as possible with his friend so nevertheless he continued, “I have a bad feeling about the others.” He concluded, heaving out a sigh.

Yamaguchi’s face fell upon hearing said news, making him feel sick to his stomach as he thought about his friends hurting worse than he. A slight gasp escaped through his lips as he turned his head towards his friend, his voice very stern and grave, “Y-you don’t think they’re dead do you?!” Yamaguchi croaked upon completing his own thought, shuddering at the thought of losing his friends.

Tsukishima gazed out at the road, listening to the rainfall hit the concrete below. As he looked off into the distance, he turned towards the little amount of light he could see coming from the one working taillight of the semi and groaned, partially in response to his friend and partially because of the bright light that he had yet to adjust to still. After a few seconds of listening to the raindrops he finally answered solemnly, “Possibly. We are human after all…”

This caused Yamaguchi to sniffle and his thoughts to spiral chaotically into a sea of depression before bursting out into a loud wail accompanied by more tears. “Oh God...Oh God...Oh God!” he wept, rhythmically chanting over and over again as his body heaved, “Tsukki! What are we going to do if they died?!” Yamaguchi shrieked, heart beating too fast for him to keep up. The sudden increase of noise next to Tsukishima’s ear made the annoying ringing from earlier, that had finally ceased, return to it’s fullest extent as the tall first year quickly darted both hands up to his ears yelling, forgetting that his friend lay leaning against one of them. Abruptly, Yamaguchi fell behind Tsukishima as the tall first year leaned forward clasping both palms around his ears as an intense headache formed. Tsukishima screamed into the night as the pain was so loud that he thought for sure he would go deaf. Yamaguchi tried to right himself back up propping himself on his left elbow, then lifting himself all the way to his previous position. “Oh God! I’m so sorry Tsukki! I didn’t mean-” Yamaguchi yelled as his friend turned around and glared daggers at him.

“Yamaguchi…” he growled turning his head to face his friend, and Yamaguchi quickly stopped talking, scared as he gazed upon the look of anger in Tsukishima’s face, “Shut... UP!” Yamaguchi's face fell once more as he sorrowfully leaned his back against the guardrail trying his best to hold in his tears.

“S-sorry Tsukki…I...just...sorry. I didn’t mean to yell that l-l-loud...” he replied defeated bringing his left forearm up to his his eyes and wiping his tears away barely getting to finish his own apology.

“God, Yamaguchi you need to stop doing that. I already have enough problems as it is! My leg hurts like hell my head is killing me, and now thanks to you that damn ringing is back in my ears! Then to make things better you...you just keep screami-” Tsukishima snarled upon hearing Yamaguchi softly cry next to him and uncharacteristically thought better of the situation and tried to calm the fuse inside his mind as he changed his tone of voice from one of anger to regret. “Look,” he tried, leaning back down against the rail where he was before, hands still trying to massage his ears as the ringing was still present, but was at least dimmed down enough so that he could continue, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.” Yamaguchi looked up at him, tears in his eyes as he simply nodded in acknowledgement and lowered his head back down. Tsukishima groaned as the noise in his head seemed to bang together like a miniature band in his brain. Eventually it subsided enough, leaving him now with just a bad headache as he moved his hands from his ears to his forehead. His left hand though brushed over his gash in his head and he unconsciously shuttered removing his hand and placing it back down at his side. After this little incident he moved his right hand back towards his right ear and continued the motion from earlier. Then after a moment or two of rubbing his ear he laid his hand back down at his side and let go a loud drawn out sigh as Yamaguchi who had been watching him carefully, finally relaxed a little bit and rested his head back upon Tsukishima's shoulder.

The two sat together silently for a few minutes, the only noise breaking the quietness being Yamaguchi’s periodic sniffles as the rain had died down and dissipated during this time. Tsukishima tilted his head back almost parallel to the ground and stared up at the parting clouds and the moon masked behind them. Eventually, Yamaguchi turned and looked at his friend staring up at the sky and smiled sweetly at the simple thought of him apologizing earlier. “I’m sorry” yamaguchi heaved out, voice a lot weaker than he remembered it to be.

“For what?” Tsukishima questioned still gazing up at the sky as a slight breeze sent a small chill through himself. Yamaguchi was actually surprised and happy that Tsukishima's answer was one that was so simple yet sincere, as he replied, “I’m sorry I’m such a wimp Tsukki…but...” he began causing the blonde to tilt his head towards his friend, waiting, knowing that there was more to come. “But...I’m just so scared...I don’t want…” Yamaguchi sniffled, tears forming in his eyes, as he wiped the running snot from his nose with his already wet and snot filled left sleeve and continued. “I don’t want to feel pain anymore. It...It hurts Tsukki... a lot, and I don’t want to feel this way. I feel helpless and... and weak…and I just don't want to be like this anymore...” Yamaguchi paused, taking a moment to catch his breath as Tsukishima interjected, saying in a very stern tone,

“You’re not weak Yamaguchi” pausing briefly as he continuously stared at the clouds above. “Weakness has nothing to do with it. You are strong and just because you are a little banged up right now doesn’t mean you’re not strong.” Tsukishima said, Yamaguchi now staring at him with admiration, but his respect for Tsukishima quickly left as he turned away and looked back at himself.

“I just…” Yamaguchi stammered as he felt the tears course its way through his body. Nevertheless he continued before completely breaking down. “I just want to go h-home…” Yamaguchi silently cried, as he innocently sniffled and unconsciously curled more into Tsukishima’s arm, tears leaking out now all over his friend's arm. This action caused the normally stoic Tsukishima to actually accumulate tears into his eyes as they started to well up, causing a few silent tears to escape and run down his face.

“I know Yamaguchi, i know...” he replied blinking trying his best to turn and hide his face from his friend. Yamaguchi shifted his head up so that he was looking more towards Tsukishima’s face and noticed the tears in his friend's eyes before the tall first year continued, “I do too…”

Yamaguchi was shocked, he had never seen this vulnerable side of Tsukishima before in all the years of knowing him. The weak first year lifted his head temporarily to reposition it and closed his eyes and curved his lips to form a slight smile before softly plopping his head back onto Tsukishima’s shoulder. Tsukishima did not react to this, nor did he even attempt to wipe the tear away from his cheek, allowing the drop to travel down his cheek and drop from his jaw onto his chest.

Once again, the two boys sat in silence, this time for much longer than before; about ten or fifteen minutes. Tsukishima was on the verse of falling asleep but strove to keep himself awake so to meet with the help that he hoped would arrive soon. Although the weights on his eyes grew with every passing moment, he knew he had to persevere through the exhaustion, as Yamaguchi had already passed out on his shoulder. His friend's mouth was slightly open but his teeth were tightly closed together, causing an incredibly light hiss to escape with every exhale. This gave Tsukishima the security of knowing that Yamaguchi was still alive, although he would still occasionally hold his own breath to ensure that he could still feel and hear Yamaguchi breathing next to him.

Tsukishima continued to dance on the line between sleep and consciousness when out of the corner of his eye, he saw light emanating from around the bend of the road. It was faint at first, and with his fuzzy vision he initially believed it to simply be the glow of the moon reflecting off the horizon or the road. However, the light gradually increased, growing to the point of being brighter than the lights from the truck in front of them, and Tsukishima also heard the crescendo of a whirring siren accompanying it, leading him to believe that finally, after so much time, help had arrived. Even so, Tsukishima was still skeptical as to if he was actually hearing and seeing the siren and the light and so nudged his shoulder moderately, attempting to wake up Yamaguchi.

“Hey... Yamaguchi... What is that?” Tsukishima asked, voice hoarse as he continued to look down at his friend who did not give any reply. Tsukishima could remember when the two of them had stopped talking but simply assumed, perhaps foolishly, that Yamaguchi would wake back up just as easily. With Yamaguchi's lack of a response, Tsukishima became increasingly worried as he turned his head away to confirm that the light was still coming towards them. He tried again, louder this time, as he turned his body slightly and gripped Yamaguchi's shoulders with his hands, “Hey, Yamaguchi!” he tried, lightly shaking the boy while yelling, “Hey! Come on, get up! Someone's coming! Help's finally here!” His suspicions were confirmed as he turned again and saw the bright lights mixing with red and yellow lights. “YAMAGUCHI!” He shouted voice incredibly hoarse once more, getting frustrated and scared that his friend would not wake up. He tried to listen for the light hissing that Yamaguchi was making before but now, with the drone of that constant alarm moving closer to them and his head filled with unwanted thoughts he just couldn't seem to concentrate to hear it.

Yamaguchi lay, as still as could be, head lolling from side to side with each shake of his body. The sirens became more prominent now and Tsukishima was terrified that his friend may have already lost too much blood for anyone to save him, even though they were coming right then. "Come on...please" Tsukishima practically begged out of breath as he kept his hands on Yamaguchi's shoulders, "Get up Yamaguchi! Help is right there!". He was desperate for the paramedics to find him quickly so he gently laid Yamaguchi back in his spot against the rail after getting no response from him and readied himself to stand. He lifted his left arm onto the rail behind him and pushed down as hard as he could while trying to get enough leverage with his other working limbs to stand.  This failed initially, as the ground was still wet and his foot slipped, sending more pain to his broken leg and causing him to clench his teeth tightly in response.  As he slipped, his left hand collided with the large branch he had used to reach the top of the hill with Ennoshita, completely forgetting its existence until this point. The ambulances turned the corner and Tsukishima could see moving balls of white and red light approaching him, inspiring him to try again to stand as quickly as he could. Now with his left arm on the rail and his other grasping the branch, he was able to lift himself to his feet just before the vehicles reached them. This in itself was a hard enough task as Tsukishima gripped onto the branch and stood with his good leg firmly on the ground and his shoeless broken leg bent slightly inward.

Unfortunately, as they got closer, the sirens had increased almost exponentially in volume, bringing the painful ringing back to Tsukishima, who would have collapsed if he had not been grasping the branch so tightly. It was able to accept and support his weight, but Tsukishima could do nothing to move his feet, frozen in place next to Yamaguchi. The sound reverberating through his skull almost caused the teen to pass out there, however he managed to stay responsive and scream out, "HELP!!" Although he had attempted to yell as loud as he could, with the ringing in his head and the loud siren approaching, he was not entirely sure if he made any sound at all. Eventually, the pain became so blinding that his vision started to fade and he screamed for help at the top of his lungs once more tears in his eyes. He was sure this time that he had made some noise, but the sheer force this bellow put on his body was simply too much to bear considering his already frail physical state. Tsukishima lost grip of the branch and fell forward to his knees, the branch clattering to the side away from him. His knees slammed sharply into the pavement, further damaging his broken leg and causing his eyes to roll back and his vision to go from foggy and hazy to completely white.

Tsukishima collapsed forward onto his stomach, his head tilted toward the side looking at Yamaguchi, who still lay propped up against the guardrail. His brain attempted to send his body messages to react to his further mangled and disfigured leg, but his body refused to move at all. He heard the tires of the ambulances screech and come to a rapid stop behind him and a voice in the distance yell, “Over here!”

 _They must have found us,_ Tsukishima thought, darkness nudging at the corners of his mind as his blinding white vision likewise began to fade to pure blackness. He opened his mouth to yell but his vocal chords would not cooperate and he just sat there as a company of footsteps rapidly approached him. _I have to make sure they see Yamaguchi first..._ He thought, his mouth still open and drooling onto the pavement, as he stared at his friend slumped over against the rail. Logically, he thought the paramedics may prioritize the boy laying face down on the ground before the one sitting against the rail, which he wanted to reverse.

The footsteps increased and then suddenly stopped as a group of five people kneeled down next to Tsukishima and started to place a long stretcher next to him “S...wh... yo... name?" A man shouted over the sirens, which continued to blare making it even more difficult for Tsukishima to hear him," H...lo! Ca... yo...me? ...Kid! Ho... on!” A man shouted as Tsukishima could feel someone's hands lightly touch against his neck to check for a pulse.

At the man's instructions, four pairs of hands started to grab Tsukishima to move him onto the stretcher after verifying he was still alive and breathing. _No..._ he thought, determined to help his friend still, _Yamaguchi... help him..._ With the last bit of fleeting strength his diminished body could muster, Tsukishima roughly spoke "Save... him first..."  The hands grasping his sides seemed to hesitate and pause, indicating to Tsukishima that the people had indeed heard him.

“We ne...h...! ... lost...lo… of blood!” A lady shouted urgently in front of Tsukishima. He could not completely understand her, but he did sense as a lot of rustling from around him over toward Yamaguchi. Another set of screeching tires behind him stopped and an additional group of people poured out of an ambulance and made their way over to Tsukishima, laying a new stretcher next to him after the other had been relocated to carry Yamaguchi. Tsukishima felt another set of hands lifting him, and his body shifted on his back onto the platform, head lolling side to side.

The man that spoke to him before walked with the stretcher as it was carried over to the ambulance, leaning down to say something to the boy. "Don't...ry, we..’l...s..v...ur fri...” The man gave Tsukishima a slightly hesitant smile, which Tsukishima could not see despite his eyes still being slightly open.

After staving it off for such an extended amount of time, his body couldn't take anymore and his subconscious finally gave way and darkness overtook his body. The last thing he heard as he was being loaded into the ambulance was a woman yelling from across the street, “We...loosing...m!” then nothing as his body completely shut down, pain overflowing into his mind causing him to blackout.

 

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 _This could not be happening, this could not be happening, this could not be happening..._ Suga repeated over and over again in his mind as he stared in horror at the body below him, unresponsive to anything. _How did it come to this? There’s just no way, just no way...he can’t be..._ Suga’s thoughts scattered as he shakily shook his friend again practically begging for any sort of movement. No matter how hard he looked, nothing seemed to change; Daichi still lay motionless in the dirt in the same position he’d been in since they got there but now his chest wasn’t moving at all. Now, more than ever, Suga felt the dam break behind his eyes, tears overflowing like a waterfall, seemingly endless as he hesitantly talked to his nonresponsive friend, only this time much slower. “Daichi?” he sniffled, nose making his voice come across a tad nasally as he paused wiping his snot on his sleeve, “Daichi... Please you gotta get up… We have to go home,” he sobbed wiping the excess snot, blood, and tears off his face with his good elbow. Ukai, Kinoshita, and Yachi all stared in shock as Suga suddenly turned angry at the third year beside him. “Y-YOU CAN’T!” he yelled through his tears at the captain as his body shook with tremors and his arm lightly hit against his side making a shocking jolt reverberate through his arm aggravating it. Suga clenched his teeth tight trying his hardest to endure the pain before continuing his pleading rant, “Get up! Get up, now! Y-you're not allowed to sleep! I told you before that we have to go home… So...” he sniffled breathing in fast and harsh, “So get up!” Suga violently shook Daichi, his face an absolute mess; tears pouring down it and mixing with the blood that continued to slowly leak out from his nose. His soreness and intense sobbing sapping all of his strength, he was unable to keep his head up any longer to look at his fallen friend. Defeated, he crossed his arms in front of him on Daichi’s chest and slumped his head forward, also allowing it to lay on Daichi’s soaked shirt. He continued to sob with his forehead above Daichi’s still heart, wishing desperately it would beat again.

Meanwhile, both Ukai and Yachi had since frozen in their respective places as they listened to Suga’s pleas; Ukai still kneeling next to Daichi’s body and staring at the wound he so desperately tried to deal with and Yachi standing behind him with the PSP, lip quivering as she instead observed Suga and Daichi’s lifeless expression. Kinoshita turned away from the scene in front of him and began to crawl on all fours toward the darkness, softly sobbing as he slowly inched his way through the mud and grime. With every other movement, he let out a soft audible whimper, not even having the constitution to formulate the word “No”. As he moved he would occasionally cough aggressively, stopping very briefly to try to catch his breath, blood splattering on the ground in front of him. However, this did not seem to faze Kinoshita much as he continued to crawl and mutter so softly that Ukai and Yachi were very quickly out of earshot of his murmurs.

Ukai’s face seemed completely drained of all emotion as he sat in the mud near Daichi’s wound, bottom lip hanging open, exhausted. Yachi took one step forward and fell to her knees next to Ukai sobbing in desperation, as her arms rose up towards her face and she cried loudly. The young girl felt broken and useless, as if everything she had done for Daichi prior to this situation was all in vain. In the processes of falling she dropped the PSP into the mud next to her, though the light managed to stay on, illuminating their area in a small glow of light. The rain that had been going on and off the whole night, seemed to finally slow to a stop as thick clouds started separating bit by bit causing the moon to shine through the canopy just barely. The moonlight, mixing with the faint light of the hand held device, caused an eerie glow to illuminate the surrounding area.

Ukai blinked and swallowed the dryness accumulating in his mouth before shakily lifting his bad right arm toward Daichi’s mud-covered wrist laying on the ground next to him. Yachi vigorously gripping at his good arm with both of hers twisted and wrapped around like a constrictor snake, squeezing tightly to the point that her nails were digging into his flesh. Her fingers twitched and shook and her upper body was likewise wrapped around his arm, her hands tightly clamped between her cheek and her shoulder. It was obvious to Ukai that she was using all of her remaining and fleeting strength to hold on to his arm like it was her final lifeline in this mess of a night. He turned his head and looked down at the girl clinging to him, her head facing downward at his knee. Although her eyes were tightly shut, tears still forced their way through the gates and rolled down her cheeks, falling onto Ukai’s leg.

Ukai opened his mouth as if to speak to the girl digging her fingers into his skin but shut it quickly and simply closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes, he used his free hand to wipe away the rainwater and some tears from his face before returning to his previous objective. Although he already knew the answer he was likely to find, some part of him, and he was sure some part of Yachi as well, hoped that Daichi’s stillness did not mean the dire and grim circumstances they assumed. Shaking again, he moved his hand over to Daichi’s, stopping for a moment with hand hovering above its target as he hesitated. He wanted to confirm Daichi’s status but at the same time he also did not want to face the terrible truth and have to accept that he had failed at saving yet another member of the team.

Biting his lower lip and breathing in heavily, he grabbed Daichi’s wrist and turned it so the palm was facing up toward the sky, wiping mud away using his thumb. “Please…” Ukai quietly whispered as he maneuvered his hand around so that his first two fingers were flush up against the veins in Daichi’s wrist.  The boy’s skin was cold as ice, yet still retained some of its residual body heat beneath the surface. Yachi had opened her eyes once he heard him whisper and watched as he started to check for a pulse, holding her breath wishing for a favorable response. With Kinoshita away from them, Yachi holding her breath and Suga still sobbing to himself on Daichi’s chest, the entire scene was silent as if nature herself around them was also awaiting the verdict from Ukai. After a few seconds, he carefully placed Daichi’s wrist back down in the mud where he lifted it. His eyes were closed once more and he hung his head in front of him, tears raining down from his eyes even more than Yachi and teeth tightly clenched together as his breathing became increasingly heavy and quick. “G-God… Da-Dammit…” he said, voice trembling as he could hardly utter the words through the tears.

Yachi was still watching Ukai as he placed Daichi’s arm back down and cursed at the air, her head now looking up directly at his face. Yachi’s grip tightened, almost cutting the circulation off to Ukai’s fingers, her nails digging deeper into his sleeve and flesh and even drawing blood in two instances. Her quivering lip progressed to her entire jaw as the muscles in her cheeks tightened and her mouth became more wide. She made a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a cry, as she began to openly bawl much louder than before. “Daichi’s...” she said in a very high pitched and uneasy tone, trying to formulate the words herself, “Daichi’s dead...? B-But...” She was unable to say any more as everything that came from her vocal chords devolved into sobs. In her mind, she blamed herself for her upperclassman’s death, despite knowing that she could not have done anything to prevent the crash itself. _He’s dead… And I could have saved him..._ , she thought, thinking about the events that led to his demise, _He told me to get help…_ In the middle of her thoughts, her vocal chords began to function once more and she unconsciously continued in speech, albeit broken and still riddled with sobs, _“_ No, I-I _told_ him i’d get h-help… I-I-I could have s-saved him… Too l-long... I took too long!” She screamed out loud, digging her face in between Ukai’s arm and torso. Ukai did not respond as he was entirely broken on the inside dealing with the loss of yet another person he had responsibility over, but Suga slightly turned his head on Daichi’s chest and looked at the two sobbing together. With her face buried in Ukai’s shirt, it was difficult to understand for those around her, but she said one final thing before breaking back down into unintelligible crying, “It’s m-my... fault… I’M SORRY!!”

Ukai looked down, eyes now wide though still watery, at the young girl taking all of the blame upon herself for Daichi’s demise. The two were kindred spirits, both taking it upon themselves and suspecting that, had they done something different in the minutes leading up to this grim event, the senior would still be breathing and perhaps even talking to them. He knew Yachi’s pain, thus he knew that no matter what anyone were to tell her, she would remain in her state of disparagement. Sorrowfully, he used his opposite hand to pat her lightly on the shoulder, trying his best not to falter and break down even more than she. Suga wordlessly observed these two with one eye laying on Daichi’s chest, dead eyed and listless, not showing a single reaction other than acknowledging that a loud noise came from their direction. He didn’t even hear Yachi’s words, as his mind was continually beleaguered with thoughts of his friend, particularly the sound of Daichi’s voice speaking to him before he drifted off to sleep. Suga had fallen asleep on the bus leaning with his head against Daichi and now Daichi lay before him in eternal sleep, Suga still laying his head on his body. In a cruel and twisted way, the situation had come full circle.

Kinoshita continued to crawl away from the group while Yachi wailed out loud, understanding that the ruckus indicated the horrid conclusion he had already assumed. He was still on all fours, slowly trudging his hands and knees while hanging his head down, not even looking at where he was going. He had no particular direction in mind and instead was simply focusing on escaping the scene as quickly as he could. Kinoshita’s coughing had become worse, now hacking once or twice with every few motions. He tried his best to silence himself by holding his breath when he felt a cough approaching, causing him to quickly exhaust himself. He could taste blood covering the inside of his mouth but made no attempt to swallow it down and instead allowed it to drip slowly from his lower lip into the mud as he moved, some even running down to his chin before descending to the earth. Thoughts of his friends circled around in his head and their ghastly circumstances; Takeda pierced multiple times and staring at him, Narita crushed and dying in his arms, and lastly Daichi, terribly punctured by the long metal rod that he even had a hold of at one point, trying to save his upperclassman. In every instance, there was nothing Kinoshita could do and it sickened him to the extent that had he not literally emptied his stomach on multiple occasions already, he would do so once more. “Why… is this happening…?” he stopped and said to himself, staring down at the mud with eyes wide and satiated with tears, his throat tightening as he began to cry. His weeping seemed to merely escalate the repeated, almost routine, bloody coughs but at the same time making them more painful.

Kinoshita remained still for a moment, his back to the group he had crawled away from, now a good six or so meters away. In his mind, he felt like he somewhat turned his back on his coach and his teammates and thus languidly rotated his head enough to see them out the corner of his eye. The light from the moon and the PSP Yachi dropped made it easy for him to perceive the scene around Daichi, now seeing Yachi leaning against Ukai, both of whom’s backs are also toward Kinoshita. They had not noticed or reacted to his absence yet, as far as he could tell, and Kinoshita was initially somewhat pleased about but this fact, but then his thoughts muddled and he was unsure how exactly he felt about it. Rotating slightly to get a better look, he continued to turn his head gradually over towards Hinata who was resting by a tree near him. It was weird to him how quiet Hinata’s been this whole time and he even wondered if the poor kid was even still breathing. In all honestly, he was so quiet and still that Kinoshita forgot that he was even here. He gazed at him for a moment, eyes focusing as he saw Hinata's chest rise and fall dangerously slow. _At least he’s still breathing,_ Kinoshita thought as he tried to think if there was anything he could do for him at all. He then came to the conclusion that there was nothing he could possibly do right now for Hinata, being that he could barely handle himself. So instead, Kinoshita dragged his body weakly over to a tree not too far away from his position and hacked into his hand, feeling the blood and the phlegm in his hand mixing together and slowly leaking out onto the ground. With the amount of light that filled the surrounding area it was easy to tell that Kinoshita was not doing very well. After a brief second of catching his breath, Kinoshita felt more faint than usual, this lightheaded feeling making him close his eyes temporarily. Abruptly, he opened them back up wide as his coughing intensified taking yet another turn for the worse leaving the second year completely defenseless against the violent hacks and the burning sensation in his lungs.

This time though, something else felt wrong. His stomach felt like it was physically twisting and contorting, culminating in an overall queasy and unstable sensation as he scanned the bloody mess below him with watery eyes. He was unsure if it was the sight of the red vomit below him or something else inside that triggered his gag reflex, but as he was hunched over, he felt liquid rising up through his esophagus to be expelled in the same location. This occurrence felt much worse as Kinoshita bent over, feeling like his insides were on fire, and retched forward, crying from the pain that erupted in his throat with shortness in his breath. With the rain gone now and the moon shining some sort of light, he could plainly see that this was not normal vomit but instead consisted almost entirely of blood. His hand, and the ground beneath him, lay covered in it, and his eyes started focusing in and out. The weak second year didn't know what to do anymore as he sat with his back against the tree and he wept, curling in on himself as tight as he could and quietly whimpering. He began to whisper over and over to himself, “This can’t be real, this can’t be real, this can’t be real...” until finally his voice was so choked up and choppy that all that came out were sobs. Despite the presence of Ukai, Yachi, Suga and even the unconscious Hinata, Kinoshita felt lost and alone, although this feeling was partially due to his own design as he had purposefully segregated himself from the others. He began to think of what he considered to be more pleasant thoughts, hoping they would also help hide away this unpleasant situation, as he had done for the other members in his group, from even his own mind. He thought about his family waiting for him at his house and his little sister who was probably arguing with his parents right now about staying up late to greet him home. She had always supported him in the club, despite knowing he had not had the chance to play often, and always welcomed him home, awaiting stories of their most recent match. His parents being very supportive of his actions as well, and even made him packed lunches almost everyday for fear that he wouldn’t get home on some nights to eat a proper dinner. He wanted to see them again. He wanted to make it home and tell her all about how they beat Aoba Josai and dismiss this twisted scenario he found himself in as a dream; a nightmare. As he imagined these thoughts, his head began to droop forward and he had to fight himself to stay awake as sleep attempted to overtake him.

Ukai had been too preoccupied with Yachi’s constant mutterings, Suga’s sobs, and his own personal shock that it never even phased him that Kinoshita left. Though in all honesty, Suga was the one that Ukai was most worried about right now, as the third year simply lifted his upper body off Daichi and sat back, staring wide eyed and expressionless at his friend. His right arm crossed over his chest, weakly gripping his weaker arm after Ukai had confirmed Daichi’s death. His expression was unreadable. It was as if all the screaming and crying he done previously felt like it was in the distant past as he blankly stared at Daichi and was void of any expression at all. No crying, no noise, no sniffles, nothing, just complete and utter shock, as if the third year just snapped and broke, mouth slightly ajar.

Ukai tried to talk to him in a hesitant manner but the third year didn’t even seem to register that Ukai was calling his name and acted as if time around him was frozen in place. Ukai tried to reach over and tap Suga’s shoulder with his bad hand, since Yachi still was attached to his good arm, but even then he still got no reaction out of the third year. Ukai fretted, calling out hesitantly, “Sugawara…” trying to get the third years attention but abruptly, as if the trance broke around the boy, he snapped. Suga’s head rose up quickly as he wordlessly shot daggers at his coach with his eyes as if he were a predator protecting his territory. Suga, changing trajectory, then moved his gaze back towards Daichi, eyebrows furrowing, and screamed at the boy furiously.  

“God Damn it!” Suga cried slamming his forearms into the mud next to Daichi’s head abruptly, causing an insane amount of pain to ricochet up his left arm making the third year swear even more. “Ah, God, Fucking why! Why did you do this to me Daichi?!” Suga shrieked, scaring even Ukai himself as the man retracted his arm and scooted away shocked, and Yachi hid her head further into Ukai’s shoulder as he watched in horror over what they was witnessing. “Damn it Daichi! I told you to wake up and you didn’t listen...You-” he growled taking his good arm and grabbing the cuff of Daichi’s jersey, tightening his knuckles around the collar causing his knuckles to turn slightly whiter. Suga clenched his teeth, eyes in a ferocious gaze as he spat leaning in closer to Daichi, “You didn’t wake up and now because of that you never will!”, the third year wailed, eyes overflowing with tears, as they fell upon his friends face. “I…” he began, choking on the words in his mouth, “I was only trying to help you Daichi...Y-you were supposed to come back to us...why did you leave us out here by ourselves?” Suga questioned, knowing full well that his friend was not going to answer back but the feeling of getting this off his chest seemed to please Suga so he continued nevertheless. “Why didn’t you listen to me?!” The third year fumed, releasing his grip on Daichi’s shirt and letting his hand fall back to his side defeatedly and he sat back. He then grasped his bad arm that now felt like fire had seeped into his bones and bawled, shoulders rising and falling as his breathing hitched at harsh intervals. Ukai taking notice to this realized that Suga was having some form or panic attack or hyperventilation, just like Yachi did prior when they were with Narita. He had to calm him somehow as he spoke in a soft tone to the boy,

“Suga, please just try to calm down-” Ukai started but was quickly regretting the choice of words as he saw Suga’s demor violently change in front of him from depressed to one of rage. _Shit why did I have to say it like that…_ Ukai realized as Suga turned and sharply snapped at him, tension releasing to maximum.

“CALM DOWN?! How the fuck am I supposed calm down exactly! My best friend just died on me and you’ll telling me to calm down, coach?! Seriously?!” Suga accentuated, in a motion of anger as he slightly swung his arms around causing him to finch in pain when his shoulder grinded together. He couldn’t believe his own ears as he huffed in front of his coach, rage seemingly evaporating off his body. The tenseness in the air mixed with the constant snaps and yells from Suga, caused Yachi to cry even louder as her firm grip around Ukai’s arm somehow constricted tighter. Yachi practically screamed as she cried into the side of Ukai even harder and wished desperately for the yelling to stop. She didn't even phase Suga as the third year sat up on his knees straighter staring down at Daichi with a tint of sadness then looking back over towards Ukai.

“How I’m supposed to keep it all together Coach?!” Suga desperately pleaded as his eyes despondently slid down to now look upon Daichi once more before continuing, “You keep acting like we should be okay and keep moving forward but Daichi…” Suga’s anger now turning into excessive sadness as memories seemed to roll by in his head like as if he was watching an old film turning over and over in his brain, flashbacks presenting themselves as pictures in his mind. Over and over he replayed all the times they shared together, whether it be with the team, just hanging out together, sleepovers, parties, all of it. The memories brought back smiles to his face and for a mere moment he wanted to laugh, as he remembered a particularly fond time they had with Asahi. Abruptly, as if the film turned off, he noticed where he was and spoke dejectedly, “Daichi will never get older...Daichi’s gone…”. At first when Suga spoke he hadn’t realized he even spoke out loud, his voice detached from the situation at hand but then his mind caught up with him as he realized he was talking to his coach. “He’s gone Ukai and I can’t fix it! I’m the oldest of us three, and I couldn’t protect him. He always was the leader, but I was supposed to look out for him...and the others...I was supposed to be there for them! Why is this happening to us!?” The last part of his rant crescendoed into a nasty, hostile tone, causing Ukai to try and defuse the rant.

“Suga I... I can't tell you how sorry I am that this is all happening…I understand what you're feeling,” Ukai tried to reason with the fuming boy before him. Normally dominant, Ukai was trying his best to defuse the situation as calmly and quietly as he could so to not enter a shouting match with Suga, not because he thought he would not be able to control him that way, but because of Yachi clinging tighter and tighter with every moment this argument progressed. Firmly, he looked directly into Suga’s eyes in hopes that this would allow Suga to see that he was serious and was struggling with this loss as well, “We all do.”

“No you don't Ukai! You don't know what this feels like so stop pretending that you do!” Suga furiously spat wincing in pain from the amount of agony his arm was going through. “Now not only will I never graduate with him but I will never get to see him get married or have kids or any of that because he-he’s gone! His life is over Ukai...OVER! He will never grow old like you!” Suga cried trying to formulate words, “And I know it’s not your fault, it’s not anyone’s fault but I can’t accept that this just happens!” Suga rambled, on the verge of trying to pick a fight with Ukai yet at the same time breaking down completely. It was never his intention to yell at Ukai but right here and right now, he needed this. He needed to rant, to scream, to yell, to cry, he needed someone to listen to him.

“Suga…” Ukai began but once again was cut off by the third year who was a total mess.

“No! Stop telling me to calm down and just… Just stop!” He screamed that last part, hand coming up to cover his ears as he buried his head back into Daichi’s still chest, his words echoing with a finality that shook the others to their core.

Yachi tried her best to cover her ears and push as close to the coach as possible, but the tone in Suga’s voice terrified her as she wept, trying to voice out for them to stop. “Please… Stop fighting…” she attempted to say although she didn’t think either person heard it since it was incredibly hard to hear through all the shouting and crying. However, Ukai seemed to catch her small outburst amongst the yelling as he glanced down at her and just listened for her to speak more, not saying anything. Suga sat, tears raining down his face as Yachi openly wept at Ukai’s side, body heaving tremendously as she clamped her eyes shut and buried her head into his good arm. Knowing that the poor girl was scared out of her mind he turned his body so that he was now facing her and put his bad arm around Yachi as if he were her protector or guardian.

“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t grieve him, Suga…” Ukai began after a few moments of silence just listening to the grieving senior. “And I'm sorry this is happening… You have no idea how sorry I am that this is happening to us. But please we all need to just try to calm down and wait for help. I'm sure it will come soon,” Ukai reasoned, trying his best to calm down the situation but stopped when he heard Suga mumbling under his breath.

“Daichi...” Suga sadly muttered as he lifted his head once more off his friend’s chest, and glanced over at the coach, who’s reasoning now started taking effect on the worn third year as he took his right palm and wiped it across his face, smearing the dirt, blood, and tears.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence between the two men deep in thought, Ukai heard over Yachi’s sobbing small coughs coming from somewhere farther away from them. It wasn’t until then did Ukai remember that he hasn’t seen or heard Kinoshita in a while and looked around the area for the boy. Trying to find anything in the dark with one eye was a hard enough task in itself but eventually he did spot him. Thanks to the light the moon was giving off he located him over by a tree, and Ukai took his right arm and weakly tapped Yachi before whispering.

“I’m going to get up and check on Kinoshita, you stay here okay?” The young girl nodded slowly releasing her grip on Ukai and took her knees bringing them up to her body shaikly, arms draping over them resting her head in between. Ukai rose, legs almost giving out for a second as he stood his ground and walked as best he could over to the second year. Upon getting closer he saw Kinoshita doubled over heaving as something, bile maybe, ran down his mouth into the pile of throw up underneath him. The scared second year wheezed putting his left hand up to his mouth to try and catch the remnants that forced their way out, trying to catch his breathe, but failing miserably at doing so. Ukai attempted voicing out the the teen while stepping forward, “Kino-” he announced but it seemed as though Kinoshita didn’t hear him over the coughing fit as Ukai stopped mid-name an he noticed what seemed to be his worse nightmare right now. What he thought to be bile coming out his mouth was actually not puke at all but a large amount of blood. Ukai stood for a moment shaken, just watching as Kinoshita heaved on all fours, causing more and more blood to ooze out along with tears. Kinoshita’s stomach felt as though it was being ripped apart from the inside out, causing cuts and lashes to decorate his internal organs, every breath he tried taking seeming to get cut in half before reaching him. It was too much for his weak body to handle as his forearms gave way and he slipped, falling toward the pool of his own vomited blood. “Woah!” Ukai yelled reacting quicker than he thought possible right now as he reached his arms out around the boy and pulled him back so that Kinoshita now rested with his knees now in the mud.

“Kinoshita?” Ukai hesitated nearly out of breath, his voice shaking as the second year lifted his head, trying to register the voice and to whom it belonged to. He weakly glanced up at where the voice was coming from, only for his gaze to meet a slightly blurry Ukai as his eyes tried to focus better.

Ukai was terrified as he glanced at Kinoshita and the blood that layered his left hand, his mouth, and the ground below him. The coach was at a loss for words as he worriedly reached his hand out and grabbed hold of Kinoshita’s bloody hand before he lowered it completely trying to find his voice and question the second year. “Kinoshita?” Ukai said in a slightly harsh tone this time, “How-how long have you been throwing up blood?” Kinoshita fretted telling Ukai about his condition that he had hidden from them for so long. Even when he had discovered that he had begun throwing up more blood than anything else, he did not wish to worry the others by informing them, as they had just lost two teammates and their teacher in so short a time. Yet still, the second year knew he couldn’t hide it anymore as he guilty tried to look away, knowing that he was not going to be able to resist and escape Ukai’s hold and questioning because of his extremely weak muscles so he opted to just tell Ukai the truth now.

“...A little after I got up…I think...” he said regretfully, causing Ukai’s eyes to widen in shock and he dropped his grip on Kinoshita’s hand.

Ukai stared in disbelief at his student, _Shit...he’s been doing this for that long?! This is bad…I should have known something was wrong with him when he didn’t say anything to me about it all night. Damn it! How stupid can I be?! He’s been coughing and puking all night and here I thought he was just sad over the loss of his friends...I never...I never thought he could have something like this! What are we going to do now? I have no idea if help is even on the way, and if it isn’t then, he’s probably going to die-NO! I-I can’t...I can’t think like that._ Ukai started, trying to formulate some sort of words in his mouth but after everything he’d gone through he just couldn’t think of anything to say.

Instead, he just seemed to glance at the sick second year for what seemed like forever until finally Kinoshita spoke in an apologizing way, “I-I’m sorry coach...I know I should have told you sooner...But you...you just had more important things to worry about and I thought that at first I was fine…but...” Kinoshita spoke very slowly and quietly as his eyes started going in and out again, causing the second year to shake his head trying to ignore it.

“Kinoshita…” Ukai finally muttered, catching the attention of the second year as he now sat down on his knees next to his student. Ukai had to tell Kinoshita how dangerous this was but he didn’t want to frighten the teen more than he already was, so he tried to put it in the simplest way possible. “This is really bad. If you say you've been coughing and puking up blood since we woke up, we need to get you to a hospital right away and fast! Dammit boy...why didn’t you tell me sooner?” He cautioned as Kinoshita just silently wept at his side.

“I-I don't know why...I just didn't want you to worry about me...and...the others were hurt worse so-” he choked but was angrily cut off by Ukai as he took his left arm and reached over to put it on kinoshita's shoulder.

“You” Ukai accentuated before continuing, “Are hurt dammit! You are hurt just as bad as anyone else, there was no reason to hide this. We need to help each other and we can't do that if you keep secrets like this from us. This is some serious shit! You could die from this Kinoshita! Do you understand?! And I will NOT allow that to happen.” Ukai clarified with a bit of finality in his voice as he observed Kinoshita who looked taken aback by the last parts.

“Die? I…” Kinoshita whimpered, voice hitching in his chest, “coach…” Kinoshita cried, taking a moment to try and calm down, his heart feeling like it was beating in overtime before continuing, “Is...is it really that bad?…” Kinoshita bawled bringing his hands up to his mouth as he felt another attack forcing it’s way up his throat. The attack lasted only a few moments and all the while Ukai sat rubbing circles into his back with an expression of intense worry spreading across his face. After a few moments more, Kinoshita tried to speak again, only this time it was much harder to understand him since the weeping boy was trying to speak while wiping snot and tears off his face with his own two hands. “I don't want to die Ukai! I... I'm so scared...this blood... It just..." Kinoshita paused momentarily breathing in harshly. " It just won't coming out... And... And my insides feel like their being shredded to pieces." The second year weezed as Ukai hesitated not sure how to help exactly as he wracked his brain for any possibly outcome that could be good and useful in this situation. "What will happen to my family if I die Ukai?! My-my parents" he paused to look up at Ukai with tears in his eyes before continuing, " My parents would be devastated! And...And my younger sister...oh God, oh God, what would she do without me?! I..." Kinoshita coughed, only this one wasn't as bad as his last couple. Ukai stared down at the boy in sorrow as he glanced back over to where Yaci and Suga sat next to Daichi, then returned his gaze to Kinoshita. "I'm so afraid coach…please, help me...” Kinoshita pleaded once the thought of actually dying in this place entered his thoughts. The young second year couldn’t stop his mind from overflowing with memories of his life and things he would never do. Once that thought hit, more tears came as well, the sadness overflowing him as he snivelled, body heaving so heavily that Ukai himself didn’t know what to do. He tried calming him down by telling him that everything would be fine but the over-reactive teen bent forward feeling the puking sensation rise again but this time it was different. This time no puke came, just an intense amount of dry heaving, as he sat in the mud, pressing his palms to the ground. His tears took over, cascading down his face mixing with the mud below him.

“H-Hey Kinoshita!...That...that was more of the worse case scenario, please just try to calm down!” Ukai’s voice rose alerting Yachi and Suga that something was amiss as both nonchalantly glanced over in his direction briefly before returning to their previous positions. Kinoshita looked over at Ukai with tears spilling out as he tried to find his voice. “I…” he started but felt an intense dizzy spell hit him and started sumping over warning Ukai that Kinoshita had reached his limit. Ukai quickly grabbed the boy and pulled him about a meter or two away from the bloody area and leaned him down in the mud on his back with his head resting against his knee.

“Kinoshita,” Ukai started, waiting for the boy to gradually look up at his coach before continuing. “I’m going to pick you up and take you to the others now, okay?” Ukai suggested. In his mind, Ukai believed that the group should try staying as close to one another as possible, particularly since he thought it would be best to get Yachi and particularly Suga away from Daichi or else lose them entirely. Ukai then thought twice about his suggestion, thinking it would be preferable to regroup at Hinata’s location instead so to not bring Kinoshita back over to his deceased friend, but as he thought this, Kinoshita shut him down with a sudden outburst.

“NO!” Kinoshita yelped out, slightly startling the coach. This rush of energy he pumped into his vocal chords to deny his coach from executing the proposed plan was more than Kinoshita ought to have exerted, as he immediately began coughing once more. He hacked upward, splattering Ukai’s shoulder with the blood that had lined his throat and mouth. He was still too weak to move much of his body regretfully was not able to cover his mouth with his hand but was able to turn his head slightly in time to avoid hitting Ukai square in the face. His entire body shook from this action, the muscles in his back receiving most of the punishment as it violently jerked with every cough. Ukai winced upon being hit by the blood and stood up to avoid being struck with more, waiting for KInoshita to finish. Once the second year stopped shuddering and coughing, Ukai kneeled back down and found that instead of breathing very quickly as would have been expected after coughing so terribly, Kinoshita’s stomach was barely rising at all and the intervals between breaths was far too long. The coach reached his hand over to Kinoshita, lightly grabbing the boy’s chin and rotating his slumped head upward to look at his face.  

In such a short amount of time, Kinoshita’s expression had changed immensely, as if that last bout had impacted his physical and mental state more than the previous. His mouth hung open with two lines of blood streaking down from the left side and down his neck. These viscous red streaks accompanied a new one that now poured out from his left nostril, staining much of his upper lip crimson. The worst part to behold however were the boy’s eyes, which were hardly open as his eyelids were almost entirely closed. Unfortunately, Ukai could see them; hollow and dull and staring directly back at him, although they seemed to be more staring through the man into an infinite void of nothingness. Not moving his lips at all, Kinoshita repeated quietly, “No…”

Ukai was confused at Kinoshita’s unceasing objection, but was also surprised and at the same time relieved that the boy could still talk and had not lost consciousness. “What?” Ukai softly questioned, trying to figure out why Kinoshita was so opposed to gathering everyone together, “Why not?”

At first Ukai thought that either Kinoshita could not hear him or something else more dire was wrong and was about to repeat his question before Kinoshita began speaking, slurring all of his words together as he barely moved his lips to form consonants. “--lease, coach…” Kinoshita started whispering as Ukai leaned in closer to hear him. The second year closed his mouth and swallowed, preparing himself for what he was about to say next while at the same time trying to deal with his rapidly drying mouth. He parted his lips once more and let his vocal chords do the rest of the work, “Don't... Let… The others… See --e...like this.” He spoke very slowly, taking breaths in between every pair of words, but tried his best to enunciate as clearly as possible.

Ukai was still holding Kinoshita’s chin at this point with his unhurt hand, unsure if the boy had enough strength yet to even hold his head up. To hear better, he had his head turned to the side with his ear near Kinoshita’s mouth and, although much more difficult than before, could understand the second year’s soft speech. Ukai pulled his head away and looked back at Kinoshita’s face, which was still as lifeless as it had been before, perhaps even more so as his eyes seemed to become more milky and cloudy as if they were now masked by small puffs of fog.

Ukai furrowed his brows and curled his lower lip inward, biting slightly on it in worry before responding, “Alright, fine. I won’t. But-” Ukai began to explain that they needed to stay together in case help actually arrives for the team but stopped when the clouds that had momentarily covered the moon parted, allowing Ukai to see even more clearly how pale and disheveled Kinoshita seemed. _Shit...we need help now!_ Ukai pressed on thinking about how he and the others would get out of this situation. He carefully set Kinoshita’s head down, allowing the boy’s chin to slump forward onto his chest, his eyes now looking down at his lap and his flaccid hands laying in the mud with the palms facing up. The coach stood up and brought his hand up to his head to wring his fingers through his own hair, unsure of what to do. Although he wished to respect Kinoshita’s wishes, he knew it would be best if they were all together and away from the dead Daichi. While wiping the boy’s blood off of his neck, he spoke to the boy, “Alright, i’ll be right back! Just… Stay there…”

Ukai started to move toward Suga and Yachi, determined to gather everyone in one place, knowing that it would be a hard enough task to move Suga away considering their previous argument. Kinoshita coughed once quietly in response as his elder stepped away and closed his eyes, returning to the thoughts he had before concerning his family. For some reason, it was more difficult for him to picture his parents, but he could still hear their voices in his head. There was nothing profound or incredibly special about what he heard them say in his mind as the only things that played over and over were the standard conversations they would have at home while eating dinner. However, this simplicity pleased him, as he knew he probably would not be able to experience these situations again. He opened his eyes slowly once more, his vision blurring as he stared at his palms covered in blood.

As his vision waned even further, he heard another voice in his mind, this one belonging to his sister, “Hasashi! You’re back!” He tried to form a smile with his lips as he thought of her voice and how much he wanted to see her, but the muscles in his face would not respond and he sat there almost paralyzed as her voice continued. “I missed you!” Kinoshita knew what she was going to say next, even though she was not really there with him, as she always had the same greeting for him every day that he had a match, “How’d the crows fly today?”

She would always ask him how they did in this way, it was kind of a tradition for them. Kinoshita closed his eyes as his senses dulled almost completely. He wished he could see her again and tell her that they soared higher than they ever had before. _I’m sorry, Kiyomi..._

Ukai approached the scene surrounding Daichi, finding Suga sitting quietly where he had left him and Yachi, who had since stood up, holding the PSP that she had dropped earlier, frantically trying to wipe the mud off of the screen. He was unsure as to why exactly she was doing this but assumed that it was her mind trying to focus on something else to shelter herself from facing Daichi’s death more. Based on the fact that she was still sniffing and crying and that she was aggressively pressing her thumb into the screen to wipe away mud that she had already long-since cleaned off, he doubted how well this was really helping her. He sighed, accepting the fact that she was already standing and seemingly ready to move as a boon itself, and proceeded to step toward Suga, somewhat dreading facing him once more after their dispute.

He took one more step forward and froze in place. Above them, far off in the distance, Ukai heard something that sounded like a rhythmic whirring and whooping noise muffled above the trees. Ukai circled around, frantically looking around and above him for the source of the noise, hoping that his prayers had been answered and help had finally arrived for them. Suga lifted his head up unenthusiastically, looking around for the source of the sound as well and Yachi had followed suit with Ukai, darting around trying to find a large gap in the trees to clearly see the sky above them. As the droning sound increased in intensity, he finally saw off to the side a bright light shining down through the treetops moving quickly in their general direction. The loud _‘'whoop, whoop, whoop_ ’ sounds gradually got closer as Ukai tried to run in that direction through the mud until, eventually, the machine that made the noise was suddenly visible. Ukai could see that it was a helicopter, flying low enough that it was clearly visible above the trees but high enough so to not collide with any of the tall trees that surrounded the team. Ukai heard, over the loud whirring, a man on a megaphone call out, “Hello!? Is anyone out there!”

While searching up and down the mountain with the flood lights, Ukai ran back over towards Suga and Yachi, who happened to be in a more open clearing and proceeded to scream with every drop of adrenaline that surged through him now, “HELP! OVER HERE!” He waved his arms frantically in the air like a madman on a deserted island, hoping that they would be able to hear or see him. Upon seeing Ukai do this and hearing him continually call out, the other two joined in as well. With both Yachi and Suga standing with their coach, screaming as loud as possible, the trio made a loud ruckus, treating this event as their last hope on earth of being saved.  

The helicopter followed the path that the bus took down the mountain, surveying the area immediately around the bus with its bright lights before eventually spotting Ukai’s group a dozen meters away. Seeing them, the pilot radioed in his location and another helicopter that was approaching the mountain turned to make a beeline right for Ukai’s group as well. Within seconds, another droning 'whoosh’ noise could be heard as a second helicopter flew in next to the first. Overjoyed, the two students witnessed the doors of the helicopters open and the man on the megaphone yell out to them to stay where they are. The paramedics readied their equipment to make the descent and a stretcher connected to the helicopter started lowering down to them.

Yachi and Suga breathed out a relieved sigh, looking at each other in relief that their nightmare had finally come to a close. Yachi, who was now crying joyful tears, looked around to locate Ukai, who had been standing with them and had since rushed over to Kinoshita. He wanted to give him the good news that help had finally arrived and that they could go home.

He wanted to tell him that they were saved.

Yachi found Ukai kneeling in the mud in front of Kinoshita, who was still where he had left him. Both of Ukai’s hands were pressed against his face, covering his eyes, nose, and mouth as he cried heavily into them. “No…” Ukai whispered through his sobbing, “Dammit, NO!"

With his eyes closed and blood still dripping from his open mouth, Kinoshita sat completely motionless before Ukai. After suffering for so long, he had finally joined Daichi and Narita in death.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR BEING SO LATE...But you have NO idea how hard this chapter was to write...I have been super busy trying to get this chapter up and running but like Archive had an error on my account for like a week and a half and I had an Anime con that I just went to. Anyway here is my longest chapter yet!! There are many OC (original Characters) in this chapter. I tried to write it so it was easy to understand. PLEASE REVIEW!!!! I LOVE READING THEM!!!!!!!! I have college to deal with soooo It may take me three weeks to upload but once again, I will try my best to upload fast. Sorry again : O I hope you all enjoy this chapter!! ALSO THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH ROB FOR HELPING ME WRITE THIS VERY LONG CHAPTER!!!!!!
> 
> *On Sept. 4, 2016 I edited a scene. The ending scene with the people all in the same room.

Chapter 8

Saeko haphazardly awoke, sitting straight up in her bed as she looked at her buzzing cellphone on the bedside next to her. Something about the vibrating awoke her from her nightmare-ish sleep as she scrambled to see who was calling so late at night. Upon answering, her heart practically stopped when she heard a man on the other end of the phone. The man sounded of high authority as he cleared his throat and asked for Saeko. Eventually Saeko found out that this man she was talking to was from a remote hospital about an hour away and that he was calling to inform her that her brother was in a very bad accident. The doctor told her about Ryu and the team and where they were at, and before long she threw the covers all the way off and skyrocketed out of her bed, rushing to find shoes in the dark. As soon as she got out of bed, her foot slipped on a dirty shirt and she almost fell, quickly grabbing onto the corner of her dresser to steady herself causing magazines and make-up brushes to fall off it.

After a second of trying to calm down her rapidly beating heart she eventually made it over to the light and flipped it on. Saeko’s bedroom was a mess, with dirty clothes scattered everywhere, even a pair of pants lay slung over her T.V. as makeup covered the base of it along with a few assorted bottles of nail polish. The dresser with the T.V. on it sat across from her bed with the door leading out on the adjacent wall. She quickly found a pair of flip flops over in the corner of her room by her closet, and didn’t even bother changing out of her PJ’s, which consisted of pair of red and black checkered pajama pants and a back tank top. Saeko rushed out of her room to grab her car keys off the little table in the hallway in between her room and Ryu’s and was about to leave until she saw that her brothers door was open and just had to peek inside to conclude to herself that this was not some crazy nightmare. She swiftly poked her head inside the doorway of his room and flicked the on the lights calling his name out, only to discover that Ryu was not in bed; it was unmade and messy just like it always was. The room was almost as messy as hers but with assorted comic books and women's magazines scattered all over the dresser and floor. She flicked the light back off and ran out the door as she used her phone as a GPS to guide her way to the specific hospital the man on the phone said that her brother and the and the others were at. The hospital itself was a while away but she didn't care; she had to know what was going on with Ryu.

About an hour later she saw the sign for the hospital exit and drove towards the parking lot, hands shaking on the steering wheel as she entered the lot. The hospital itself wasn’t very big and It took forever to find a spot to park, since most were already taken, which caused Saeko go get visibly angry as she thought about just parking on the grass. As soon as she thought this though, she saw a spot and skidded her car to a halt inside it. The sky was dark but the their was no rain as she sprinted across the parking lot towards the doors that went inside. Saeko stormed into the hospital and marched straight up to the front desk, her face coated with anger and concern.

“Where the fuck is my brother!” Saeko yelled upon entering, slamming her hands down on the front desk. An elderly doctor with short white hair, whose nametag read 'Dr. Hibiki’ stood behind a young receptionist who seemed temporarily taken aback by such harsh words.

The lady behind the counter glanced up, shocked from the sudden outburst of the woman who was fuming in front of her, and tried to speak in a calming tone towards the obviously distraught Saeko. “I’m sorry ma’am but who are you?” she asked nicely as both her and the elder doctor gazed at her, unaware if she was going to cause some sort of trouble or commotion, and if someone should escort her out.

“Ryūnosuke Tanaka” she panted, practically out of breath as she attempted to continue, “He’s my brother! H-he was taken here not too long ago. He was in a bus crash. Where is he?! Is he safe?!” Saeko demanded, breathing in harshly.

“Ma’am please, calm down. What is your name?” The man behind the counter asked, leaning forward more to join the conversation while briefly glancing down at his clipboard.

“My name is Saeko Tanaka-” She answered, trying to calm down her still rapid breathing from running inside before talking further, “My brother was taken to this hospital. I got the call about an hour ago that he was here!” she gritted her teeth just wanting someone to tell her if Ryu was okay or not, “Please, I just need to see him… I need to know if he's alright! Can I see him?” She tried again, calming her voice as the older gentleman flipped a page over on his clipboard.

The man behind the receptionist, Doctor Hibiki, looked up at Saeko with a very serious look in his eyes, motioning her to the side away from the desk, “Miss?” He nodded and she followed the man to the side away from the receptionist and, after calmly placing his clipboard down on the desk, he began to explain the situation. “I’m sorry miss, but Ryūnosuke Tanaka is prepping for surgery right now and I cannot allow you to see him. When we called you earlier, we were sending him to get x-rays done, thinking that he simply had a torn muscle in his leg. We didn’t find any break in the bones, which was good, but when we took him back to his room, we found he had blood in his urine. This led us to find that the damaged muscle cells from his leg had leaked into his bloodstream, causing his kidneys to start to fail. We know you’re his appointed guardian but we couldn’t wait for your permission; if we didn’t start surgery right away, he could of died.” He said in a straightforward tone, keeping his face masked from any emotions as Saeko gazed at him horrified upon hearing the said news. After a few seconds he took his right hand and pointed to a direction off to Saeko’s left. “He’s already under general anesthesia, but the procedure may take quite a while. You can take a seat over there by the other worried parents and family members of the crash and we will keep you updated as best as we can.” Dr. Hibiki explained as Saeko turned around to see where he was pointing and was shocked by the amount of people there were.

When first coming into the hospital Saeko didn’t even notice that other people were in the room with her, as her only concern at the time was finding any information about her brother. Upon turning and seeing them, her mouth hung ajar and her eyes widened in fear, as she looked at the other family members that gathered in the waiting room. Most families were sitting in small groups talking, whispering to each other inside each family gathering. Some openly wept into each other's arms, but the one that Saeko noticed right away was the man and woman who stood relatively close to her position when she turned around. It was Nishinoya’s parents.

Nishinoya’s mother, Mayumi Nishinoya, was, on a normal everyday basis the definition of spunk and fun, but today, right here and now, Saeko had never seen her look so small and withdrawn. She was a tiny woman, maybe even a centimeter or two shorter than Noya himself, with short spiky hair and three earrings in each ear. Saeko still remembers shopping together with this woman and sharing stories with her and Yuu almost every other week. Her and Mayumi were very close, and since she never had any daughters of her own, just her one son, Yuu, Saeko was something like a daughter to her.

Nao Nishinoya was as proud as a father could be for his son and took great pleasure in letting Yuu know how much he cared and supported his sports. He even practiced hitting the volleyball to his son on days he did not work and even during the time with the principle when his son was suspended. Sure, he was not pleased that Yuu got in trouble, but he knew deep down that it was never really his fault. Both parents had the same short spiky hair, only Nao’s was pure black while Mayumi and Yuu both shared the same taste in highlights. Saeko could tell instantly where Noya got his flare from, but the woman that resided here now was more so a shell of the wild spirit that raged inside her.

Mayumi stood talking to a doctor, and Saeko knew instantly that something was wrong as Yuu’s parents acted strangely; they looked about ready to breakdown into tears in front of the doctor. Suddenly, the now horrified Mayumi fell to her knees in absolute anguish on the cold linoleum floor of the hospital waiting room. She took one hand and gripped her shirt where one's heart should be, tears cascading down her cheeks as she screamed into the air in desolation. Her yell chilled Saeko to the core as she stood frozen next to Dr. Hibiki. Saeko stood as still as a statue while the doctor sighed and walked away sorrowfully, knowing that he would be unable to console the parents or help the situation in any tangible way. Saeko felt as though all the muscles in her body stopped working at once, as she wondered what could have possibly made this lady yell out such a remorseful, painstaking cry.

At first Mayumi rejected the news as she questioned, “What?...” Thus causing the doctor to repeat his statement from earlier.

“I’m sorry, but we were not able to save your son. By the time we had arrived to the scene, it was too late for us to be of any help.” He reiterated, hanging his head low in shame and staring down at the lady who was on the floor. Upon hearing these clarified words, she felt tears leak out of her eyes as she turned her head upwards and faced her husband who looked just as shocked and speechless as she.

“What do you mean he's gone?” the father asked this time, hoping that this was all just a big lie. Nao trembled as Mayumi cried into her hands. The loss that she felt in her heart turned into a convolution of choking sobs, so powerful in it's intensity that it shook the woman's body till she could barely breathe.

Her husband, reacting almost instantly, leaned down to wrap his arms around the small frame of his wife as the other parents in the waiting room momentarily turned their heads towards the noise but quickly averted back to their own grieving and fear. Saeko stood in temporarily shock at the news she just overheard. Wait… What Yuu’s dead!? No… No it can’t be... Saeko thought as fear and dread entered and plagued her thoughts causing her to shed a few tears herself. “No...Oh God no…” She whispered as she put up both of her hands over her mouth and tried to slowly back away, yet her legs wouldn't budge, feet still frozen in place. Ryu… Oh God Ryu… Please be okay… She contemplated in her head upon hearing the dreadful demise of her brother’s best friend.

Everything felt peculiar and bizarre to Saeko, as if she was an uninvited guest in some outlandish and unbelievable spectacle. The simple act of observing these two adults experience their internal torment felt wrong to the point that she herself began to feel guilty, as if she had a hand in causing their sorrow. The lady on the floor refused to listen to what anyone had to say to her, denying the fact that her son was dead and insisting that he would come strolling down the hospital hallway, healthy as ever. Her husband squatted down and placed a comforting arm around her, looking up at the doctor as if insisting that he continue.

The doctor, who stood patiently in front of them the whole time, attempted to hail the parents once more. “Mr. and Mrs. Nishi-” he began as he was harshly cut off by the mother in front of him.

“Noooo, no…” she cried, taking her one hand and gripping her shirt tighter above the heart. “You’re wrong doctor, please no...tell me you're lying! This can’t be real! My son is alive and well, he’s just right back there down the hallway and-” Mayumi could not handle the strain on her heart which felt like a razor-sharp grappling hook had been shot through her chest, piercing her heart before having it vigorously ripped it out in a bloody spectacle for all to witness.

The doctor in front of her remorsefully tried to reason with the two, “I'm so very sorry for your loss Mr. and Mrs. Nishinoya”

Mrs. Nishinoya glared up at him with intensity in her eyes, trying her best to burn holes straight through his body, treating him as a scapegoat for her seething hatred. Before the doctor could even finish what he was going to say Mayumi blurted out, “I want to see him!” As the man in front of her looked taken aback. “I want to see him for myself!” She yelled this time a lot louder than the last.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, ma’am…” he tried to voice out, knowing all too well the extent of the injuries on the boy in question and wanting to ensure that no one else, particularly the parents, witness a sight so disheartening.

Mayumi stood back up and spat in his face, “Let. Me. See. My. Son.” She demanded, enunciating every word in the last statement with a vicious growl hiding behind her teeth. Both her and her husband now standing in front of the doctor as he sighed trying his best to stop the two parents from seeing a sight that could potentially harm them for the rest of their lives.

The doctor endeavored to explain the situation to the parents in a way that they could fathom, but at the same time wanted no one else in the surrounding area to overhear the grisly details. He lowered his voice and tried to describe it in a relatively sensitive manner, “Ma’am, he’s not… You don’t understand… He’s contorted in way’s that you-” He tried to begin, eyes practically pleading ‘don’t do this’ as he looked at the two parents.

“Dr. Kai, that was your name right?” Nao paused as he laid a hand down on his wife's shoulder and continued, “My wife here said she would like to see our son. So please just let us through.” Yuu’s father tried to act as civilized as possible causing the doctor to look back behind him down the hallway for a moment and then glancing forward again, sighing.

“Ok fine...I’ll be honest with you,” he began, running a hand through his hair, “I would highly recommend that you two didn’t see your son in the condition he is in. Now if you really want to go see him I cannot legally stop you, but I would highly advise against it. Your son is not the same, he's been through a lot, you might not even recognize him-” Although this was an understatement they could tell from his tone that it was more serious then he let on.

He was stopped though when Mayumi piped up, “How do you know it’s him then?! It could be another child!” She raised her voice in hysteria as her husband looked pleadingly at the Doctor in front of him.

“What do you mean Doctor? How bad was it...” Nao asked with a straight face, trying his best to hold his composure.

“Your son,” the doctor reiterated, “He died on impact. His body was crushed by the force of the oncoming vehicle, which killed him instantaneously. He would have felt no pain whatsoever.” He said in a straightforward tone, hoping that by saying it this way, it would change their minds about seeing the state of their son right now. “Trust me… It’s him. When our rescue team got there some of the students that found him told us who he was… They were pretty horrified at the sight.” After finishing, both Mayumi and Nao looked taken back as each one mentally pictured what that could look like in their minds.

After a few seconds though, she shook her head and yelled “Well I’m going anyway!” Mayumi snapped as the grip her husband had on her shoulder tightened, and she turned around confused, “What is it Nao?”

“Mayumi… What if the doctor’s right? We want to remember Yuu by who he was, not by who they have down there in the morgue …” Yuu’s father contemplated as his wife just shook her head in disbelief and replied,

“This is our son Nao! I have to see him! We have to see him! Why would we not go?!” She angrily grinded her teeth together before asking one more time, “Are you coming with me or not?” she inquired, disappointed that her husband would try to stop her too, but when he finally agreed, both of them walked down the hall with Dr. Kai and were soon out of sight.

Saeko was left speechless as the other family members tried their best to continue looking away and keep to themselves. There had to be at least twenty people still jam-packed in the tight space, even after the Nishinoyas left. Everything in this waiting room was different, the people were too quiet, it was as if Saeko just walked into an uneasy nightmare. This instinctively made her feel more on edge and fear even greater for her brother who meant more to her than anyone else in the world as she turned her head looking at all the sad grieving faces. Saeko stood momentarily in shock by the events that just took place, but eventually the uncomfortable silence that she believed existed a moment ago disappeared from her brain like fog lifting. She then noticed that it wasn't quiet at all and that it was instead just her lack of being unable to focus on everything to once. Suddenly sounds and voices filled her brain and all of the stimuli hit at once as the cries and yells from other family members could now be heard in her head. She pivoted around so she could look back towards the cries and whisperings of the other family members in the waiting area. Saeko finally, after feeling like she was frozen in time, moved her legs and started to slowly walk over towards the others, still trying to comprehend the information that seemed to jumble up inside her brain.

Along the back row near the windows, Saeko observed two long brown couches, both filled with grieving parents. On one couch sat a mother with medium length straight black hair with a little boy tiredly slouching into her side and cradling his knees up towards his face. The boy was fast asleep as the mother brought a tissue up to her eyes, tears seeming to endlessly leak down her face. The woman looked horrified as she shook, grasping the tissue in her right hand as close to her chest as possible, as if the tissue in her arms was the only lifeline she had to this world right now. She sat, in a very plain dress, one that was slightly crinkled and had a small stain on it, meaning that this was probably the dress she had on all day and just changed back into it before coming here.

Her husband was seated next to her, between a wall and his wife. He wore glasses and had black hair with white blooming from the roots, and he too looked old and disheveled as he sat reaching his hand over to wipe the tears off his face with the palms of his hands. After this movement he then motioned to help wipe his wife’s face, seeing that the tissue was already soaked before offering another one to her. After a few seconds of silence he took his left arm and draped it over her shoulders and both sat, heads hanging low as the woman leaned her head against his shoulder, muttering quietly through her sobs.

“Kazuhito… My baby boy… How could this happen?...” She wept as she felt her own vulnerability as a parent come into play. “I’m so sorry I wasn't there to protect you…” She cried, feeling as though she failed at being a mother. “A mother should always protect her children. A mother should never have to outlive her own son… But… I did… Here I am… Oh God what are we supposed to do?” She cried hysterically into her snot-ridden tissue as her husband leaned over closer and pulled her into a tight embrace. “W-what are we going to tell Takahiro when he wakes up?” She asked glancing up at her husband who looked lost and confused as if in a daydream. She said it again, this time, lightly shaking her husband's arm, “How do you tell a 12 year old boy that his older brother is…” she wept, unable to continue as her breath hitched in her throat as she glanced over at her young boy who was curled up sleeping next to her. She felt powerless as she glanced at her son and had a flashback of Kazuhito sleeping next to her on all the train rides they took when he was younger. She bawled knowing that nothing would bring him back, nothing in her power could reverse what have been done. She would gladly die before having to see her son's casket. As she thought about this her mind seemed to shut down as she couldn’t think straight. She knew that he was in a crash but for her to not be able to see or talk to her son again, she seemed to snap causing her husband to look over at her with saddened red eyes.

“Why him! This can’t be true, please tell me that tonight is all a nightmare. Just tell me that our son is alive! Kazuhito couldn’t … He couldn’t dead!” She denied weeping and sniffling on the side of her husband’s shirt.

Kazuhito… Saeko thought as it finally registered in her brain that these two must be Narita’s parents and the boy next to them must be the famous little Takahiro that Kazuhito always talked about when over visiting Ryuu. Saeko didn't know them all too well but she did remember seeing them from time and time again when Narita would come and stay the night and one of his parents came to pick him up in the morning. Wait did they say dead though? She thought as a wave of intense pressure seemed to hit her at full force, No… No… No he can’t be dead too… She thought as her attention focused back to the two’s conversation.

“I… I can’t believe it… No, it can’t be real...” Kazuhito’s father curled the fingers of his right hand, bringing it up to his face to cover his eye, trying in vain to conceal the stream of tears that poured forth as he spoke. He tried to think of a way, any way, that what he heard from the doctor earlier was false but he had to face the truth. The truth was that his son was dead and he couldn’t think straight, he knew it to be true, yet he so desperately wished that he could turn his brain off and just stop thinking. He knew he was being irrational, but this can’t be dealt with, with logic, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get the image of his son dying in several different ways out of his head. He wanted to stop thinking about these morbid thoughts, he wanted to stop replaying all these god-forsaken scenarios where his son dies over and over again in his mind, yet every time he tried to think about something different his brain just kept coming up with even worse ideas.

So instead he sat, fighting with his inner demons as he embraced his wife and held her close, dreading the question she kept asking him. He did not know how to answer her question so at first he ignored it. The father was in denial as he continued to mutter things to his wife, but now that she asked about Takahiro, he didn’t know what to say to him either. For now he just hoped that his son slept peacefully. Images of Kazuhito flashed through the father's eyes and all that came out were sobs and broken sentences as he silently wept, “Son… I… I’m so sorry this happened to you… Please forgive us”.

Saeko, unaware that she was fully crying now, took the back of her palm and wiped her tear-ridden face, unintentionally still trying to gather in all the information at once. The minute her eyes focused, she caught a glimpse of a little girl next to the Narita’s and her gaze drifted over to her.

Saeko glanced at the other family that resided adjacent to them on the next couch over. A mother with a little girl sitting in her lap, occupied this seat. This little girl had bright orange messy hair and wore her pink PJ's with unicorns on them as she kept fidgeting around and asking her mother questions. The hair itself was a dead giveaway as Saeko knew she had to be related to Hinata, as the child tugged at her mother’s shirt with one hand and asked about her big brother sleepily while using the other hand to wipe her drooping eyes. “Mommmmaaaa, where’s Shou-chan? I’m sleeeeepy and I wannnna go hommme… Can’t weee just pick himmm up later?” The little girl asked slurring some of her words together drowsily.

A father with tired eyes, dark red hair, and freckles rested, gazing out the window next to them, deep in thought as he listened to the two of them talk back to each other. Hinata’s father still wore his work clothes meaning that he probably just got off work or was in the middle of some sort of nightly shift. In contrast to this, Hinata’s mother sat wearing a pair of blue jeans and a baggy whitish-blue shirt. The woman tried to tell her daughter that he was being looked at by the doctors and that they would have to wait until he came back to tell them about Shōyō but Natsu didn’t like this plan as she grumbled “Welllll he needssss to hurrrrrry up because it’s paaaaast my bedtime!”

“I know sweetie, i’m sorry. We will get you home as soon as we can. Until then, why don’t you rest up beside me while we wait to get word from the doctor.” She sweetly cooed trying her best to not show Natsu her fear as she patted the seat next to her and the little girl scooted over to the spot she patted.

Next to the couch on the opposite wall a man sat with his fingers intertwined together as if in a praying position with his head and back lowered so that his forehead rested on his thumbs. At first glance, the man gave off an aura of misery and despondency; he seemed to be a man who had already reached his lowest point and already had the world and its opportunities ripped away from his hands. The man didn't seem to be with anybody else as he cried, tears hitting the rim of his glasses in front of his face and rolling off onto the floor beneath him. The man didn’t care that his own glasses were getting wet as he shook, shoulders hunched, keeping his gaze down at the floor with worn, sunken eyes as if he hasn't slept a wink in three days. The man had short black hair, and his clothes looked like his fell in a mud puddle on the way here, there was even a small rip in the corner of his tan shirt he had on. He was a nervous wreck, trembling and mumbling under his breath, keeping his eyes focused on the tiles of the floor below him, though initially he failed at this simple task since his tears would build up behind his eyes making his focus waver. “Nooo...no...he’s not...he can’t…” he would occasionally whisper through the massive amounts of sobs.

One woman, who was sitting on a bench in the middle of the room faced him, glancing over for a moment, wanting to talk to him but seeming afraid to do so as she returned her gaze to her own husband and Saeko heard the woman say in a soft voice, “Poor Shohei… I can’t believe this...It-it” she stuttered choking back her sobs, “This isn’t right! How… How could Daichi be dead… it just doesn't make any sense Manabu” She cried looking over at her husband before continuing her rant “... Do you think our son is dead too?! I mean that’s already…” she paused briefly as if she was trying to count in her head but then gave up as another burst of fear hit her and she fretted, “How many parents now that have been told this type of news?! I’m frightened that we’ll be next Manabu… I’m terrified for Asahi!” She shook as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

No… Saeko feared as she heard yet another name listed as deceased, “Just how bad was this crash!?” She half whispered to herself under her breath, disbelieving the overwhelming mass of information being presented to her as she stood in the middle of the room practically traumatized at what she just overheard.

The man next to the lady on the bench put his arm around his wife and said “ I'm worried for Asahi too, Ryoko, but they wouldn’t make us wait this long if he was already gone. We just have to try our best to keep composure. Asahi is a strong man...i’m sure everything will be fine...It has to be.” The man said with a slight tint of worry edged on the ending of his speech.

Just then a girl looking to be about Saeko’s age walked over carrying two cups of coffee as she handed them to her parents. “Thanks Saki...” her mother whispered taking both cups and handing one over to her husband with slightly trembling hands.

“Has there been any news on Asahi?” Saki inquired sitting down on her mother’s right side. If Saeko had to guess she’d say that if Saki Azumane was a few years younger, she and Asahi could have been twins. The two looked nearly identical. Saki had fair skin and medium length brown hair that was pulled into a bun almost just like her brothers, yet looked to be in college. She wore tan pants and a short sleeve shirt with a jacket over top.

“Not yet dear” her mother replied taking a sip of the steaming coffee in her hands and curling her fingers around the cup for warmth.

“Well I’m sure he’s fine honey,” Asahi’s father piped up making both women next to him turn their heads towards him.

“Remember that time when Asahi was ten and he had that bad leg injury” he paused as the girls nodded unsure where his story was going. “Well, remember how the doctor told us that he was going to recover in a month's time yet he recovered in two weeks! The doctor told us that the rate at which he recovered was astonishing even for him. That’s why I believe he’s going to be fine, he will make it out of this hell and move forward.” Asahi’s father concluded making both girls smile and feel like a weight had been taken off their shoulders, even just temporarily.

“I hope more than anything you are right, Manabu” Ryoko Azumane whispered to her husband as she turned her head to glance down the hallway before finishing “…I really do”.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Saeko rediscovered the strength in her legs again as she slowly backed away from the horrendous amounts of news the seemed to fill the grief-stricken atmosphere all around her. Before she could accomplish that goal though, she practically bumped into a worried looking mother and her daughter as the ran in from the outside, the girl looking to be about middle school aged. Saeko turned to apologize, but the woman didn’t even seem to notice that Saeko bumped into her as she frantically looked around at all the worried parents as if trying to find someone. Saeko knew them from somewhere but for some reason could remember exactly where until she observed them closer.

After almost bumping straight into this woman and daughter, Saeko unconsciously started following them like a little lost puppy, craving to know more, despite being already shocked by recent events. Eventually her body took over as she moved along with the frightened women and her child. The mother looked around anxiously trying to find someone, her purse flying in all sorts of directions as she eventually spotting him and tugged at her daughter's arm to follow her.

A man was sitting at a table in the corner of the room, elbows resting on the tabletop and palms covering both if his eyes as his body hunched forward into his palms. Upon seeing her husband she knew instantly that something was terribly wrong and practically ran the rest of the short distance to him, her daughter following close her in her footsteps.

“Hyuga!” The lady shouted upon arriving at the table in the corner of the room, “Have you heard anything about Hisashi yet?” She finished apprehensive for an answer yet afraid of the outcome.

Hyuga Kinoshita was a muscular, meticulous man who worked for Computer Company that handles a lot of clients that request assistance when servers go down. Most nights he didn’t work this late or this far out but it just so happened that this night he was in this general area when he got the call and was about to be on his way home when his cell phone rang. Immediately he knew something was wrong because this was his emergency number for any of his kids and his wife at home if anything were to happen. He answered the call and found out that his son Hisashi had been in a terrible accident and was at the hospital. Hyuga instantly informed his boss and clients that an emergency came up and that he had to go as he headed over to the hospital, his dark grey hair falling slightly into his eyes as he rushed over to the emergency section.

His wife Aiko, was a small and petite woman with light brown hair and was usually a rather quiet person. Upon hearing his wife’s voice call out to him he instantly lifted his head up and looked over at his spouse and daughter. He pushed his seat back and rushed over to them, pulling them both into a warm bear hug as he cried over their backs. Aiko Kinoshita eyes grew almost twice their size as she feared for the worst.

Kiyomi, barely even able to breathe, patted her father’s back and nervously asked, “Dad…what is it? Why are you so sad? What happened to Hisashi?” Yet her father just continued to weep, head hanging over their shoulders as if he didn’t even hear the question.

“Hyuga!” Aiko snapped, pushing her husband back some. Upon contact, Hyuga released his grip on the two and now stood in front of them. “How’s Hisashi?! Did you get any news on him?! What’s happened to our son?!” she panicked, feeling as if her stomach was on the top of a roller coaster of fear and anxiety that was ready to drop at any second.

“I… I…” he stammered before swallowing and trying to recollect his thoughts. “I think you better sit down for this…” he muttered out, eyes staining red from all the constant stress and crying that plagued his thoughts. Aiko and Kiyomi both reached out and took a seat in their shaky hands and sat.

“Th-...This is going to be hard to hear… But…” He choked up not wanting to repeat the words that he was told earlier. Aiko stared at him with tears in her eyes that formed just by observing his behaviours. “Hisashi’s… Hisashi’s dead…” The silence that engulfed the table was thick as both girls froze in disbelief, Aiko’s mouth hanging open in a silent scream before she covered them with both of her hands. Kiyomi stared at her father questioningly as if she didn’t understand the information that was just placed down in front of her.

“What do you mean dad…? How can Hisashi be-” Kiyomi spoke up, voice leaving her body too soon as the thought of her dear older brothers demise. Her mom sitting next to her with tears quietly flowing from her eyes as she tried to dab away at the tears with one of her sleeves.

“I…. He’s just… He’s gone?...” Hyuga informed to the best of his ability before trying his hardest to continue. “Oh god… Oh god… I don’t know!? The doctor told me it was due to massive amounts of internal bleeding. And that he was just too weak, and he lost too much blood.” He rasped, breaking down into tears again and wiping them away with his hands furiously, yet lost in a constantly losing battle as the tears just wouldn’t stop. He honestly didn’t really understand it all because he was so focused on the first part of the news that he missed most of what the doctor said afterwards about the injury itself.

“What?...” Aiko questioned still in a state of despair. “What do you mean Internal bleeding?! How… How did he get that?” She nagged Hyuga, puzzled as to how her son could have possibly had that sort of life-threatening condition. “What happened exactly?”

“I don’t know Aiko… The doctor didn’t tell me anything else... Just that there were complications and that they got there too late, their coach, uh Keishin Ukai, and a few others where there trying to flag down help… But I guess the damage was already done… I… I don’t know Aiko… I just don’t know why this is happening…” Hyuga whimpered a little before fully breaking down into a fit of tears and sobs.

Aiko and Hyuga were next to each other crying as Kiyomi sat withdrawn and shocked by the sudden life changing news. Hisashi’s…dead?... No… No he can’t be…“He told me he’d be back soon to tell me about his game… He promised me he’d come home safely…” Kiyomi muttered under her breath, eyes still dead and lifeless upon hearing the news. “Hisashi… No, he just can’t be dead! Dad you must have heard the doctor wrong. There’s just no way that… That big brother is gone!” Kiyomi’s voice rose up this time loud enough for her parents and even Saeko to hear. Her breath started hitching in her chest and her tears overflowed her eyes as her mother reached her arm out inviting her to join the family hug and Kiyomi gladly joined.

Saeko couldn’t believe what she was overhearing as she observed the family from the sidelines, unable to do anything to move her body, or even speak. The family sat, intertwined in their little gathering, arms reaching around one another, not willing to let go anytime soon.

Saeko was mounted in the same position she’d been in for the last couple of minutes, as if she was in a trance, until finally she broke free. She was unsure of where to go as she stood practically in the center of the room with no one to talk to, staring out the window into the cold night, having diverted her eyes away from the parents. Uncertain of what to do, she instinctively began to back away until she spotted a wall with enough room to lean against. Wanting to escape the morbid feeling permeating through the air, she quietly turned and walked over towards it, her head tucked down not in shame, but in fear of being overwhelmed by the macabre. Thoughts of Ryu and his friends whose fates were not a favorable outcome flooded her mind as she leaned her back against the wall, glancing over at her new neighbor, a tall blonde boy who was also leaning with his back against it as well, looking completely engulfed in his thoughts. The boy was dressed as she was, in pajamas, his a light blue top and pajama pants that had moons on them. Saeko faced him and noticed that he looked pretty close to her in age and wanted to start up a conversation, but whenever she tried to move her mouth to speak, no words came out and instead she quickly turned her head away and tried to hide in her own thoughts. She needed to know more, she wanted to know if there was any news at all on anyone else, besides death, but bringing herself to ask someone she didn’t know about it seemed inconsiderate. She had to know if anyone made it safely off the godforsaken bus.

“Hey…” a voice shattered her thoughts of insecurity as Saeko glanced up at the boy she tried to talk to a few seconds ago. In her mind she was ecstatic that someone was at least realizing she was there, since the last couple minutes she felt like a ghost wandering around. She looked up at the new voice and a small smile formed on her lips. The boy noticed the distraught Saeko meandering around the room with no direction or orientation in mind, and in order to get his mind off the things that plagued him, he craved the company of someone new. He was really worried about his younger brother and both seemed to share a similar feeling of distress as if both were kindred spirits.

“Hey” she said not really sure what he wanted but was happy to have someone to talk to now. He looked a tad familiar to her but she couldn’t really place her finger on it as she faked a smile to at least lighten up the gloomy atmosphere.

“Akiteru Tsukishima.” He said pointing to himself before continuing, “Nice to meet you.” He stated scooting over some more on the wall so she could lean against it better. Saeko thanked him and nodded her head, taking the vacant spot next to him on the wall gladly.

“I’m Saeko Tanaka, Ryu’s older sister” She announced trying her best to be friendly in these grim circumstances. The boy smiled slightly as both he and Saeko internally thanked the other one for at least causing a distraction for the hell that they were in waiting and hoping for their family to return safely.

As soon as the boy turned fully around, something inside Saeko flipped as she finally recognized this man. Saeko knew him and she knew where she had seen this boy before as she exclaimed, “Oh! I thought you looked familiar! You went to school with me! You were on the Volleyball team back in high school right? And Kei is your younger brother, is that correct?” She asked as Akiteru just nodded, slightly taken aback and shocked but before he could say anything she continued, “That makes sense now,” Saeko slightly giggled as she thought about how mad Ryuu would get when talking about his teammate Tsukishima. It was as if every time he had talked about this guy named Tsukishima on his team he would always cringe and say mean things like ‘he’s a prick’ or ‘he’s such an asshole, stupid guy thinks he’s so smug’. “So... You are his brother,” she lingered for a moment and continued, “Well, it’s officially nice to meet you Akiteru.” She greeted as Akiteru lightly laughed at the strange woman in front of him. “Do you know how Kei’s doing? Have the doctors came in at all to talk to you about him? Or any of the others?” Saeko tentatively asked as she hinted, tilting her head towards the front desk. Akiteru though just shook his head sadly.

“No… I just got here about a half hour ago but apparently Tadashi’s parents and Hisashi’s dad have been here the longest. They were the first ones here… And yet Tadashi’s mother still doesn’t know anything except that her son was in a bus crash, while Hisashi’s parents already know what happened. God I wish that they would give us more to go on than that…” Akiteru described glancing over at Yamaguchi’s mother as Saeko followed his gaze, “She’s been fidgeting and twirling her fingers together ever since she got here. That’s probably her third cup of coffee now…” Akiteru pointed out as Saeko glanced over and saw a skinny woman with long wavy black hair that ended around her hips lightly sipping down what she presumed was her third cup of coffee. The lady had freckles, just like Yamaguchi, and was leaning her head against who Saeko presumed was the husband. He was dabbing a tissue in both his reddened eyes as the lady reached over and grabbed the tissue box on his lap and blew her nose, both now crying into tissues and sniffling.

Saeko looked back towards Akiteru and sighed, “Do you have any idea when we will find anything out?” she asked huffing as she saw a slight change in Akiteru and he leaned over towards her.

“Honestly no, but...” he disclosed, emphasizing heavily on the last word, seeming to drag it on for as long as possible, as he quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching, then when he saw no one around he whispered, “I have an idea though...”

Saeko lit up at this news as she too whispered back, “What do you mean?” she asked waiting for his response.

“Apparently it was pretty bad from what I happened to overhear. One of the worse crashes in years.” He mentioned, peaking Saeko’s interest as the girl leaned her back off the wall and stood gazing at him.

“What do you mean, I thought you just got here? How would you know? And I don’t understand is how everyone is hurt? I mean they were on a bus so even if something hit them, wouldn’t the bus hold?” Saeko spit-fired questions as Akiteru turned facing his crying mother and father and quickly told his mom that he’d be right back as she looked mildly confused but shook her head approvingly. Akiteru took hold of Saeko’s hand and dragged her around the corner of the room to a slightly more secluded area and began again.

“I heard,” he clarified with a tint of worry and sadness etched into his words causing Saeko to gulp and listen intently. “That apparently a semi hit the bus, hydroplaned maybe? I’m not entirely sure, but it hit our bus and caused it to hit a guardrail and fall over the cliff. I don’t know how bad it is or if what they are saying is true but if that happened then this is way more serious than I originally thought, which would make sense as to why no one has told us anything yet. I knew something was wrong when I called Kei and he never answered nor returned any of my calls.” The tall blonde finished as Saeko’s eyes widened in fear.

“Oh my God! Akiteru... That's awful!” She gasped as she thought about her brother and how the surgery was going. “If what you are saying is true… Then… Then…” She gulped, eyes slowly filling with tears as the situation around her seemed to just get progressively worse. This time, the tears fell as she thought about how scared her brother must have been and how the others fared. “it’s no wonder there were deaths… Oh God I’m so scared for Ryu… What if he doesn’t know yet about his friends!?” she squealed as Akiteru sadly glanced at the floor,

“I know… I worried about Kei… ” Akiteru whispered as he wrung the fingers of his left hand through his hair, apprehensive of the grisly fate of the individuals on the bus that his brother would soon have to come to terms with, if he had not done so already. Saeko though just stared not saying a single thing, as she herself was too overwhelmed to even formulate a sentence. The situation that both found themselves in was foreboding, like waiting for the inevitable to come as they stood in silence for about a minute until Saeko spoke up.

“How… How do you know all of this?” Saeko asked fearfully after a while of not talking.

“I overheard some paramedics talking about it,” he answered the question straight but stared off into the distance as the last syllable faded off, his mind thinking more about his brother than the circumstances of the crash itself. “And I’m scared for Kei… I really am… I finally started reconnecting with him again and if I lose him now I’m going to blame myself forever for not being the role model he thought I was. I hope the others made it out okay as well but I don’t know… And I can’t help like feeling that something is wrong...” he simply commented trying his best to stay positive.

Suddenly the doctor that talked to Saeko earlier came back into the waiting room. “His name is Dr. Hibiki” Akiteru quietly voiced out. He motioned for Saeko to follow him over towards Akiteru’s parents and they listened to what the doctor had to say.

Please God, be good news Saeko prayed under her breath as she made it back over to the wall she was leaning against moments ago.

 

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Down the hall from where the worried parents and assorted family members waited with baited breath for favorable news, Yachi quietly lay in her hospital bed. The girl had passed out not long after being helped into an ambulance and awoke groggy and slightly confused as her head lay cradled in an incredibly soft white pillow. All of her senses felt numbed as if the rest of her body, aside from her head, had yet to awake. As her eyes began to adjust to the bright florescent lights above her, she tilted her head around to take in her surroundings. Due to the rather meager size of the hospital and the sheer number of emergency patients brought in from the crash, the administration of the hospital decided to place the non-critical patients together in a single large room, the biggest the hospital had to offer. Each bed in the room, eight in total, was separated by plain white curtains designed to give each patient some semblance of privacy, although the curtains were not drawn near the foot of each bed. The curtains were blocking Yachi’s view of the two beds on either side of her, but she could tell based on the symmetry of the room that the bed to her right was next to the large glass windows and that there should then be two to her left. Now that her eyes had completely recovered their focus, she could see that of the four beds on the opposite side of the room, only two remained unoccupied.

The two beds nearest the window on that side of the room were occupied by two boys, each fully laying back and facing each other, quietly talking. Though their voices were soft, Yachi could catch a bit of their conversation as the only competing noise was a soft hum of air-conditioning, “Yeah, i’ve been wondering that too. Do you think they know yet?”

“Not sure, “ the other replied, sighing before continuing, “I hope so. But at the same time, I… I don’t know… I could barely handle it when I saw him.” Yachi was confused by what the two were talking about and tried to ask them or even say anything but when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out aside from a strained and raspy breath. Still laying on her back, it was still difficult to see properly, so she attempted to bring her shoulders up and pull her elbows back to angle her head and torso in a way that she could more easily see them. As she did this, the second boy continued to speak, “Can you even imagine what it would be like for them?”

As Yachi started to move her elbows back, she felt a little resistance, something tugging on her right middle finger as she moved. She stopped and put her head back on the pillow, only raising it a few centimeters before feeling the disturbance. She lifted her right arm into the air so she could look at her hand and found a small clamp attached to her finger with a wire connected to it. “I don’t want to think about it, honestly. It must b-” The first boy said to the second before stopping, noticing Yachi’s hand raised in the air. He nodded in her direction and said to his companion, “Look who’s awake.”

“Yachi! Hey, Yachi! You’re up!” The second boy said. Upon being hailed, Yachi put her arm back down and returned to her previous aim of lifting her upper body so she could actually see who they were. Now more awake and used to moving her body, it was significantly easier to do so and, upon finally getting up, she recognized the two boys across from her as Kageyama and Ennoshita, whom she had yet to see since before the accident. Ennoshita continued speaking as the two looked on at her expression of bewilderment and relief, “Hey! Good to see you’re alright, How, uhh… How’re you feeling?”

She sat there staring at the two of them with her mouth slightly agape as she observed the two of them. The two were both in clean and dry hospital gowns, which she then noticed she was wearing as well, and their beds had been raised so they could be leaning back instead of laying down, making it easier for them to talk to each other as well as Yachi. Kageyama, who was the closest to the window on his side of the room, had a lime green cast on his right arm with various small cuts dotting his other arm, as well as a jagged cut covered by a butterfly closure over his left eye. Next to Kageyama sat Ennoshita in his own bed, also sitting back against the raised portion and looking at Yachi, but with a big excited smile. He was not as bandaged as Kageyama but his wrist sat carefully next to him, cushioned by a long pillow that seemed to be designated specifically for that arm, as his other sat normally across his lap. Similarly, Ennoshita’s ankle was raised by sitting on a separate pillow and was not covered by the light blue blankets that all of the patients had on them.

For the first time in quite a while, a slight smile spread across Yachi’s face upon finding out that others from the crash had made it out in relatively okay condition. She had feared that after finding and watching three of her friends from the crash die before her eyes that the rest may have suffered a similar fate, but the boys on the beds across from her were alive and obviously had no threat to their mortality. Before answering, Yachi looked down at her right leg, the one that she knew was injured, and found that, like Ennoshita, her foot lay raised on a separate pillow. She did not have any shoes or socks on, meaning that she could easily see that her ankle, which she assumed was simply sprained, was now swollen and covered in a large black and red bruise. Furthermore, the laceration on her upper thighs had already been cleaned and stitched up in her sleep with eight stitches in total. She was going to tell them that she was unsure how exactly she felt after seeing her injuries in the light, but when she thought about it more, she couldn’t even feel her leg at the moment, as it had been numbed. Finally, she spoke up, “Yeah, I dunno. I think i’m fine. It used to hurt a lot but its seems fine now, I guess,” she said with a straightforward tone, surprising even herself with how calm she was. Yachi closed her eyes and lightly shook her head to forcibly stop herself from staring at her own wounds, feeling her dry bangs lightly tickle her face. She opened her eyes and gave the two boys a half-smile, “How about you guys?”

The two looked at each other momentarily before Kageyama spoke up, leaning back against his pillow so that he was now staring up at the ceiling tiles. “We’re fine,” he admitted, glancing briefly at Ennoshita, who was hunched forward but hanging his head, looking at the white and blue checkered bed covers, “Just got our x-rays a bit ago, that’s what we were talking about.” Kageyama avoided discussing the previous topic he was just talking with Ennoshita about, unsure how Yachi would handle learning of Noya’s death. He continued, explaining the two’s injuries, “The doc said the ulma or ulna or something in my elbow was broken, so they fixed it.” Kageyama gestured at his elbow, now covered in a light bandaged cast, one that honestly looked rather flimsy to Yachi, “They said they were able to fix it without any surgery, so it did not take long. Closed Reduction, or whatever.”

“Our ambulance got here before yours,” Ennoshita said, joining in the conversation and looking up at Yachi, but with a noticeably somber tone instead of the excited one from before, “So we got treatment pretty quick. Well, we got our x-rays quickly, anyway. The hospital is pretty small and it's really late, so they’re doing the best they can with as many surgeons they could contact.” Yachi gaped at Ennoshita, surprised that he knew so much about the conditions of the hospital and the procedures they were working with right now. He noticed her amazement and raised his undamaged hand up, showing her his palm as he clarified with intonation rising, “One of the nurses that wheeled me back here after my surgery explained this stuff to me, heh… She said they could only handle so many people at a time...” His tone returned to its somber state as he put his hand back down and looked at his other still carefully laying on a pillow next to him, “They said I have to get surgery too, but they have to go... In… I’ve never even been inside a hospital before, so i’m honestly a little scared...”

As Ennoshita spoke, inside he was amazed at what he was feeling. It was true that he had never been inside a hospital before today, at least since he born, and he was a little nervous about the surgery planned to repair his broken wrist, but he was not scared at all. The nurse had explained to him that it was a relatively simple procedure and that he would be unconscious during the entire process, which eased his mind significantly. However, he believed that he was over-embellishing his own feelings to his friends simply to make conversation that was not revolved around those unfortunate souls on the bus that did not make it back with them. He already knew about Kiyoko and Noya and knew that there was no way that was the extent of the casualties, given that the “mild” cases cooped up in this room amounted to merely a fraction of the total passengers. In fact, of the sixteen passengers, he so far only knew for sure about eight; those that had endured more of the crash than any of the others he came across. Just thinking about the extended nightmare they experienced sent a shiver up his spine, as he had been thrown out early along with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

Unfortunately for Ennoshita, Kageyama spoke up again, breaking the silence that followed Ennoshita’s half-lie, “Yachi, do you... Do you know about any of the others?” He was incredibly straightforward and direct as he normally functions, but still Ennoshita and Yachi were both taken aback. Ennoshita’s head spun, giving Kageyama a glare, not one of anger, but one of distress, as if Kageyama had just sentenced their fellow teammates to their deaths himself. Yachi’s mouth hung open, looking at Kageyama, who was still laying back but with his head now turned slightly so he could better look at the girl.

Yachi laid back, breaking eye contact with Kageyama to stare up at the ceiling tiles and the fluorescent light panels in between them. Though fully understanding the situation, some part of her still hoped that the casualties she witnessed were just part of a nightmare induced by the crash and not actually real-life consequences of the accident. As she looked up with her eyes still wide open, tears started to form and fall down her upper cheeks into her hair. She sniffed a few times before bringing both of her palms up to wipe away the tears and then to cup her ears, taking in long breaths as she tried to gather herself enough to explain. “Yeah…” she quietly started, speaking only over the soft hum of the air vent above the bed to her left. She pictured Daichi’s smiling face as he asked her about the cold air conditioning and she contemplated yelling for a nurse to adjust it, if only to satisfy his final request of her, delirious as he was.

She buried the base of her palms into her eyes, trying to rub away the thoughts as she repeated, “Yeah… Yeah. I know about…” She tried her best to say Daichi’s name, but could not bring herself to do it. His death hit her the hardest and she continued to blame herself for it, so she resolved to at least start with the others, hoping that she could build herself up enough to admit his name. “Coach…” Her arms were now crossed and laying on her chest but they shook as she said his name, “C-Coach… He’s fine… I think. His uhm… Eye. His eye was pretty bad but… He should be fine… I think.”

Ennoshita breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, discovering that he was holding his own breath subconsciously ever since she first said she knew about someone. He laid back against the bed, plopping against the sheets and his head slightly bounced upon making contact with the pillow behind him, “Thank goodness. I hadn’t heard anything about him, so I was worried.” As he said this, Ennoshita realized how obvious this was; he was worried about everyone on the team that he didn’t meet on the slope. Kageyama snickered slightly upon hearing Ennoshita’s reply, although he did not change his frank expression and simply made the single chuckle with his mouth still closed.

With being asked, Yachi continued to list people, still focused on divulging Daichi’s name to her friends. In her mind, they had a right to know about everyone she knew about, but also she wanted to admit everything for her own personal closure. “Suga’s okay too… He’s alive. I think something’s wrong with his uhm… h-his shoulder. He f-fell… fell a bit,” She said, thinking about Suga tumbling out the back of the bus and the injuries he incurred. To her surprise, Kageyama and Ennoshita did not say anything more and instead just glanced at each other quietly before looking back at her. She concluded that they were simply allowing her to explain the situation further and thought nothing more about the silence. It was getting easier already to explain, although she still had two things tearing at her brain about this admission. For one, she was not sure how ‘alive’ Suga was actually feeling considering how distraught he was about Daichi’s passing, even more so than Yachi and secondly, Suga was the last one of her group that was alive when they were rescued. She now had to explain those that did not make it back, the three deaths that she witnessed firsthand.

“A-And uhm…” Yachi stuttered, her jaw now also shaking along with her hands, making it increasingly difficult to speak. She closed her eyes and shut her mouth, clamping her teeth tight in hopes to calm her own nerves before continuing. Finally, she spoke again, though her eyes remained shut now as it somehow made it easier for her if she could not see Ennoshita or Kageyama, even out the corner of her eye, “N-Narita… We also f-found Narita… He didn-”

As she spoke, the doorknob of the room they were in rattled and the door creaked open. A nurse followed the natural curve of the door, making way for the other people to enter after her. Both Yachi and Ennoshita shot up on their beds, sitting up perfectly erect to see who was entering the room, while Kageyama simply rotated his head slightly more to have vision of the door, still exhausted from the procedure he had earlier. After the female nurse made way, a male nurse followed after, pushing a wheelchair carefully through the frame and into the room. Although his glasses were missing, everyone immediately recognized the boy’s blonde hair and identified him as Tsukishima the moment he was within sight. Tsukishima looked incredibly tired, his head hanging forward slightly, although his eyes were still open meaning that he was conscious. Starting from his hairline and extending down the left side of his forehead was a large red gash with black stitches, 16 in total, and Ennoshita recognized this as the ugly, almost horrifying, wound Tsukishima had earlier in the night. It was jagged and the skin around it was spotted red, but it looked much better than it did before. Furthermore, Tsukishima had a cast on his left leg extended all the way up his lower leg and stopping just above the knee. The white bandages covered the many small cuts he had incurred in that same leg from the glass shards, all of which had been safely removed and dressed with disinfectant.

Two more attendants followed the nurses and assisted them in lifting Tsukishima from his wheelchair and into his bed, the one right next to Ennoshita so that the second year was now flanked on both sides by the male freshman. They talked to him as they connected him to the heart monitor that Yachi also had attached to her middle finger, as well as an IV and a couple other pieces of equipment that the rest of the onlookers did not recognize. They explained to Tsukishima that he would be administered pain medication for his leg and for his head, so he should simply try to get some sleep. While they talked to him and explained everything concerning the medicine that he needed to know, the others in the room sat quietly, trying not to just eavesdrop but at the same time did not wish to continue their earlier conversation just yet.

After about eight or ten minutes of setting him up and checking various aspects of his health, the nurses departed, the last one pulling the checkered blanket up to his chest and further insisting that he sleep. Once the final one left, Tsukishima threw the covers off of his chest and let it crumple at his feet, although he continued to stay in his supine position, not showing any intent of sitting back up. Ennoshita and Yachi exchanged nervous glances, as if asking each other if they should try to talk to him or if they should even speak at all, considering the nurse’s instruction. The awkward silence hung in the air for almost a minute before the blonde first year breathed in and let out a very loud gravelly sigh, like a lion’s growl. “Hey guys,” Tsukishima said following the sigh, still laying down with his eyes closed, “Good to see you made it.” Kageyama and Yachi were somewhat startled by Tsukishima's acknowledgement, half expecting the first year to be as quiet and distant as usual; they both smiled.

“How did the surgery go?” Ennoshita asked, aware that the first year had been in surgery since his ambulance had arrived, “That’s a pretty big cast…”

Tsukishima opened his eyes and turned his head away from Ennoshita towards the door. “It was fine. They said it wasn’t as bad as it looked, though I shouldn't've moved with it.”

Ennoshita immediately thought about the trek that they made up the slope, carrying Yamaguchi between the two of them despite both of their injured legs. Thinking back, he had no idea how they were able to accomplish that feat and chocked it up to adrenaline, though he felt terrible about having Tsukishima move at all. Ennoshita hung his head in shame and spoke, “I’m sorry… We should’ve just stayed there…” As he said this, he contemplated what exactly compelled him to believe moving two incredibly injured people up a steep slope would be a good idea, believing he did nothing but cause further harm.

“Stop,” Tsukishima said directly after Ennoshita, not skipping a single beat, “If we didn’t move, it would’ve taken longer for the ambulance to find us. So just shut up.” He turned to the second year, who’s mouth was slightly agape and was staring down at his own feet with wide shocked eyes. Tsukishima honestly believed that Ennoshita had saved them and, despite knowing that moving was probably not the best idea for the pair of injured first years, he would have made the same decision if he was in Ennoshita’s shoes. “You did well…” he said, reaffirming Ennoshita’s decision once more before turning and looking back up at the ceiling, “... And you probably saved Yamaguchi.”

Yachi gasped loudly at the mention of Yamaguchi and the fact that he had been saved. “Yam-!” she started before breaking out into a slight cough caused by the sudden rush of air that entered her lungs with the aforementioned gasp. The girl covered her mouth with both of her hands and coughed into them, feeling a little soreness in her back as she hacked.

While the girl was recovering from her fit, Kageyama sat up and looked at Tsukishima, also surprised by this mention, “Is he okay? What happened to him?” He had already been informed by Ennoshita earlier that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were both alive the last time he saw them but also knew that Yamaguchi was in a dire situation and was bleeding out of his many slices and gashes up and down the side of his body. It also worried him more concerning Tsukishima’s choice of words, as he said that Ennoshita had “probably” saved Yamaguchi. To most, that would just be a throwaway word, a pleonasm, but Kageyama knew that the smart first year always chose his words very carefully and only said what was absolutely necessary, meaning that the word “probably” had more significant meaning than usual.

“Not sure,” Tsukishima admitted, adjusting to sit up just like the others, “He wasn’t breathing the last time I saw him.” Yachi had stopped coughing but kept her hands up to cover her face upon hearing this information, almost starting to cry once more thinking that Yamaguchi had died. Both Ennoshita and Kageyama were likewise shocked and started to voice out further questions to the blonde boy, but he cut them off before they began in order to explain further. “I asked them when I got out of the surgery and they said that he was in the Emergency Surgery room. Apparently he’s still alive, but they wouldn’t tell me any more than that.” In fact, Tsukishima inquired about Yamaguchi right before he went into surgery, right after he woke up from his faint when the paramedics found them. Tsukishima was worried about Yamaguchi more than anyone else and his typical cold demeanor masked his concerns rather well, but everyone on the team knew about their close friendship and knew that internally, he was terrified about the outcome of Yamaguchi’s emergency surgery situation. Still, his explanation managed to calm the rest of the group slightly and they were able to take solace in the simple fact that he was still breathing, although the danger still remained.

Ennoshita laid back and looked up, slightly relieved as he breathed out a lot of the stress and worries inside of him. “I’m sure he’ll make it through,” Ennoshita said, trying to sound optimistic for the surrounding freshman but still a little doubtful himself.

“Don’t underestimate him,” Tsukishima said, rubbing the tips of the fingers on his right hand with that thumb as an idle idiosyncrasy, “He’s tough. He made it this far, he’ll pull through.” Tsukishima’s tone was oddly confident and managed to quell everyone’s concerns much more than Ennoshita did or could at this juncture. The fact that he was this confident about his own best friend’s health, which is in dire straits at this time, was so antithetical from what everyone expected, as each of them knew they would not have the steadfastness to handle it as well as Tsukishima, or at least as well as he portrayed himself.

Changing the subject, Tsukishima looked in Ennoshita’s direction, only recognizing the large white blob in the bed next to him as the second year by the voice. He also recognized Kageyama by his voice when he spoke, but was still unsure of who was across the room from them as Yachi did not have a chance to speak since he arrived, so he decided to inquire. Pointing up to his face, he turned to face to opposite side of the room, “So, I can’t see, glasses are still somewhere on that godforsaken mountain.” Putting his hand down, he continued as stern and serious as he was before, “Who are you.”

The way he asked Yachi was more like a declarative statement rather than a question, but she quickly raised her hand up and answered, “Y-Yachi! It’s Yachi… Sorry.”

Tsukishima nodded quietly, “Hmm, right, okay. I thought I heard you earlier but i couldn’t tell.” Yachi, whose back had straightened out upon being addressed by Tsukishima relaxed slightly. Though he was the same age as her and they’ve known each other for quite some time, talking to or answering Tsukishima still felt like discussing vital details with a figure of high authority, which still made her nervous to this day. As she calmed down, he asked another question, “Okay then, who are you.”

Yachi stared at Tsukishima in disbelief, confused that he would ask twice who she was, particularly after she had already answered him. She believed that he was simply mistaken or that he had some side effect from the anesthesia that he was administered causing his to have jumbled thoughts. Then, she noticed that although he was looking at her side of the room, he was looking slightly to the right of her at the bed adjacent to the window, though the angle at first made it seem that he was staring at her once again. She still could not see the bed on that side of her as the curtains had been drawn and the only way she could even see the widow at her angle was by seeing it beside Kageyama on the other side of the room. Though she discovered this, she believed that he was simply mistaken again, believing that he mistook the curtains as another person dressed in white, not knowing that the foot of the bed was visible from their side.

With no one answering for a few seconds, Yachi was under the impression that her theory was correct, until Ennoshita turned and spoke to Tsukishima, “It’s Suga.” Yachi choked on her own breath upon hearing this reply and tried the best she could to put her face against the wall her bed was against, hoping to get a sight around the curtains. She flopped around haphazardly, eventually giving up on this endeavor and vying to try to reach for the curtains themselves to move them away. Stretching off the bed, her fingertips brushed the curtains, but not enough to influence them to move apart.

As she underwent this endeavor, Kageyama began to explain, “Yachi says Suga came in with her and both of them were here on their beds when we got back from surgery. We tried to talk to him, but he’s been completely ignoring us and just insists on staring out that window for who-knows how long.” Ennoshita was sadly dismissive as he explained Suga’s mentality as of late. As he explained, Ennoshita glanced once again over at the boy who was sitting up neatly in his bed, his covers tidy and undisturbed ever since the nurse laid them upon him, and he continued to look out into the black night. There was a white bandage covering the rim of his broken nose, and his arms lay gently folded in front of him. When Yachi had mentioned Suga to them earlier, the two did not respond because they already knew about him but did not want to sadden Suga more by mentioning his presence and calling to attention his almost vegetative demeanor.

They worried about what had broken the third year so much that he had become like this, and feared discovering the true cause. Ennoshita whispered to Tsukishima, hoping not to incite any sudden wrath, “To be honest, we’re really worried, he’s never like this… Something terrible must have happened.” Tsukishima nodded in agreement, also concerned as to what could have happened to him or what he could have seen to make him act like this.

Tsukishima looked on at the surging white blob in front of him that was Yachi still attempting to grasp the curtains between her and Suga. Bluntly, without a second thought, the blonde boy asked, “Yachi, what happened with you guys on the mountain?” Yachi froze in place at the sound of this request, her hands that were nearly flailing at this point trying to see Suga now hung in the air as her spine felt like it had become frigid stone. Slowly, she lowered her arms, still sitting on her knees on the bed facing toward Suga. She was determined before to explain to situation to Ennoshita and Kageyama, but now with the commanding Tsukishima in the mix as well as Suga, the situation has changed somewhat. She still felt like they deserved to know the truth, but she was immeasurably more nervous now than she was before.

Thankfully, to Yachi’s relief, Kageyama spoke up, relieving her from explaining anything that she had already said considering how difficult it was for her to discuss in the first place. He informed Tsukishima that she said Ukai was okay, although his eye was injured in some way, and also that Suga was obviously also alive. “When you got here, she was about to say something about Narita too, right?” Kageyama looked at her to get a confirmation of what he had just said, only getting a scared look in response as her right hand begun to shake once more. Noticing this erratic twitch, he attempted to placate her anxiety, “Yachi, don’t worry. We know it's hard, but just take a breath and let it out. We’re all in the same situation here.” Kageyama’s words were oddly calming to Yachi, as he normally neglected showing these types of emotions in his speech and the slight change of character was strangely comforting.

However, before Yachi had a chance to reply to Tsukishima’s question, someone interrupted her, speaking just a heartbeat after Kageyama had finished comforting the girl. “No.” It was short and simple yet emphatic and for a moment everyone in the room was unsure who exactly said it before realizing that the boy sitting next to Yachi had finally used his voice. Suga continued to stare out the window, his blank expression now evolved into one more close to that of Tsukishima’s; assertive and forthright. Yachi turned and looked at the curtains between them, her jaw shaking once more upon hearing Suga’s voice once again and thinking about the last time she heard him speak. The others also stared at him in kind and waited for him to speak again like he was some overwhelming prophet whose words were law. Suga turned to face Kageyama in the bed across the room from him and locked eyes with the first year, who instinctively leaned back a few centimeters like an alpha intimidating a subordinate. “No. You’re wrong,” he said, his brown eyes piercing straight through Kageyama’s psyche. Even though only a few words were said, his will was so irrepressible that even Kageyama had no choice but to back down.

Ennoshita, Tsukishima and even Yachi could also feel Suga’s presence and willpower, despite the latter two not even being able to see him. Despite this, Ennoshita, by far the most curious and worried about Narita whom he considered one of his best friends, spoke up to the newcomer of the conversation, “Uhm… Suga… What exactly do you mean that he’s wrong?” The wind outside suddenly increased in speed, causing a tree that had been brushing against the window with its leaves until now to force its branches against the window, causing a loud screech to echo throughout the room. Everyone jumped at this sudden noise except for Suga, whose gaze had now shifted to Ennoshita although his head continued to face Kageyama, as if trying to convince the both of them to concede via visual coercion.

Suga spoke again, his soft voice as commanding as ever, “We are not in the same situation Kageyama. I’m sorry, but we are definitely not.” The more he spoke, the more the listeners could hear the inflections in his voice indicating that while he appeared to be shaming the two boys, he was also fighting back other emotions at the same time. Although Suga had obviously been broken by witnessing Daichi’s death in his arms as well as Kinoshita’s slow and drawn-out demise, he felt he needed to correct Kageyama’s statement and inform them of the horrors Yachi had witnessed. “You have absolutely no idea what we saw down there, what we went through… what she went through,” Suga explained, not gesturing toward Yachi but clear enough that they all knew who he meant. Yachi sat on the other side of the curtain on her knees with her hands gripping her legs tightly, squeezing nearly as hard as she did with Ukai’s arm. Having somebody stand up and protect her like this, specifically the dispirited Suga caused her to shed the waterworks once again, this time clearly unable to control and hold them back. Stern and focused, Suga continued, “Please, don’t ask her anymore. Can you not see or hear how this has affected her?” Suga turned away from the boys, looking back toward the window once more and releasing the boys from his piercing, almost breath-stealing, gaze, “Just leave her alone for now.”

Ennoshita and Kageyama looked at Yachi who was fully sobbing at this point, head hung so the tears poured down her cheeks and fell into her lap, splashing off either her hands or the hospital gown she wore. Kageyama thought about how awful it felt to find his teammate Noya already dead in the ground with Asahi and Tanaka crying by his side and Ennoshita thought of the same event as well as finding Kiyoko dead and torn, which he still has yet to tell the rest of the team about. The two considered their past experiences and, upon seeing how serious Suga was about this and how affected both he and Yachi were, could not even imagine what further horrors they witnessed. Tsukishima’s thoughts were similar, although he had not seen anyone dead or dying on the mountainside and merely suspected that there was a fair number who had not returned. However, all three boys still wanted to know about their fellow teammates and what exactly transpired, so Ennoshita spoke hesitantly to Suga, following his wishes to leave Yachi be, “Uhm, well, Suga…” Ennoshita said slowly, glancing over at Kageyama who nodded in confirmation of the second year’s upcoming question, “What exactly hap-”

“I’ll tell you,” Suga interrupted, understanding the desires of his juniors before they finished. Suga continued to stare out the window as he pictured Daichi’s happy and cheerful face after they had defeated Aoba Josai. A cold tear formed from his right eye and slowly inched its way down his face, causing him to think of the rain falling on their group as they tried to revive Daichi. The face Suga imagined slowly deteriorated, cuts developing on Daichi’s skin as his smile devolved into a lifeless frown and the life in his cheeks faded away. Suga closed his eyes, dashing the depressing thought from his mind and continued, “I will tell you everything. But… Are you really ready to hear it?” He was unsure if he was speaking only to the boys across the room from him as he felt he was also asking himself if he was ready to hear himself say everything, and therefore accept everything that happened as reality.

Unintentionally, Ennoshita and Tsukishima promptly answered together with a simple response, “Yes.” Each believed they needed to show a strong example for the others and thus were thinking similarly as well.

Taking a small gulp and breathing out, Kageyama answered a couple seconds after the others, “Tell us, we want to know.” Though he had obviously hesitated, Kageyama was confident about his response, worried as much as anyone else about his friends and teammates.

Suga silently nodded and waited for the tear on his cheek to reach his chin and fall before turning to face his teammates again. Their faces were full of mixed emotions, mainly dread and worry, although they also gave off an air of assuredness, positive that they believed knowing was more important than being left in the dark. Everyone was silent aside from the softly crying Yachi, who had now laid back down on her side facing towards the door gripping tightly to an extra pillow she had on her bed. Suga could hear her on the other side of the curtains and resolved to include as many necessary details as he knew so she would not be questioned further, “I woke up on the bus after it happened. The entire place was covered in broken glass and there was smoke everywhere to the point that I could barely breathe.” The three male listeners were a little shocked as all of them had been thrown from the bus far before it had reached a standstill. They thought about how much more horrific it would have been to experience the entire descent on the bus as Suga continued explaining, “I heard some voices outside, but I couldn’t call out to them. When I finally got up, I managed to hobble out of the bus and that's when they found me; Ukai, Yachi and…” he paused, looking specifically at Ennoshita before finishing the sentence, “... And Kinoshita.”

The second year opened his mouth to interject and exclaim upon hearing his best friend’s name, but Suga held up his index finger, telling the curious teen mentally to wait before asking a question. Ennoshita still wanted to ask how he was doing but submitted to his senior and retracted his question for the time being. Tsukishima, not able to see what was happening, was slightly confused about the silence, but assumed based on the mention of Kinoshita that there was a silent exchange between his upperclassman, and just waited for it to be resolved, still incredibly respectful of those older than he. Specifically, after the events on the mountain, he held the utmost respect for Ennoshita, considering him to be as efficient a leader as the third-years on the team.

Suga continued his explanation after the moment of silence, “Everyone was hurt, obviously… But we could all walk or move well enough, except for Hinata.” This time, both Tsukishima and Kageyama’s eyes widened at the mention of their fellow first year, but both decided to stay silent for now and wait for Suga to clarify the situation. “Ukai was carrying him. I don’t really know much, but his leg looked broken and he was passed out... He was breathing normally I think and Ukai was taking good care of him, so don’t worry.” This relieved some of the stress they had accumulated and although he was obviously uncertain about the state of the first-year, they believed that if Suga said he was fine, then it was likely to be true. Suga sighed, preparing to explain the rest and, since he had not even mentioned Narita yet, which was Ennoshita’s initial question, the second year grew more concerned. “When they found me, they told me what happened… with Narita,” he closed his eyes as another tear escaped his body, “...I’m so sorry, Ennoshita.”

Ennoshita’s jaw hung open unintentionally as his lower lip began to quiver. He rung his free hand through his hair, starting from his forehead and moving backwards, fiercely clutching and tugging at some of the collected hair upon reaching the back of his head as if he was about to rip it out. “Y-You mean…” he started, unable to formulate the question himself as everything around him seemed to grow as he shrunk, overwhelmed by the realization he did not want to face. With Kageyama and Tsukishima also in a similar, but not as tragic, state of shock, the latter having plopped back against his bed like an anvil or other extreme weight had been dropped on his chest, Ennoshita felt completely alone in the now silent hospital room.

Suga nodded his head melancholically, confirming Ennoshita’s fears, “It was… peaceful, I hear.” He wanted to try to help Ennoshita in some way and tell him everything would be alright or to alleviate the depression running through him at this time, but Suga could not bring himself to do it, as he was still unable to cope with the aftermath himself. His one solace was that Ennoshita did not have to witness Narita’s passing, although as he considered this he was not sure if it really is better or worse not being there when they die.

Ennoshita disagreed with Suga’s beliefs, as he knew that he would have wanted to be there to say goodbye to his friend, to help comfort his passing even though Suga claimed that it was peaceful. He released his grip on his black hair, formed a tight fist, and slammed it down onto the stand next to his bed, causing a small cup of water to shake and fall to the floor. His forearm received the brunt of the blow, a long perpendicular bruise forming across his arm, though he was not concerned with this, nor could he even feel it much at this time. Kageyama snapped out of his trance and looked at Ennoshita, whose eyes were shut tight and his entire face was scrunched up as he sobbed through clenched teeth. Yachi also managed to peek at Ennoshita, thinking about how she too was sobbing almost the same way during Narita’s passing. “God-d... D-D-Dammit…” Ennoshita bawled as his teammates watched, unable to say or even think of saying anything that could comfort the boy right now. Slowly, Ennoshita fell back against the inclined bed as he thought about all of the moments leading up to then that he had shared with Narita, who had been his friend since grade school. They had originally bonded over baseball when the two were younger, simulating entire games by themselves by going to local fields in the evenings and imagining themselves as professional players. Narita would play most of the offense and Ennoshita would be a pitcher and defense as he also narrated the entire game as if he was an announcer, embellishing greatly to make it seem like a full spectacle to the children. It was by Narita’s suggestion that the other consider writing scripts and directing and it was by Ennoshita’s suggestion that the two join the Volleyball team upon entering high school, as the two were not as skilled in Baseball as their child fantasies had envisioned. Ennoshita grabbed the pillow his head was against and pulled it out to smother his face with, half-crying and half-screaming into the cushion, “No! No!... No, no… Ahhhh!”

“Enn-” Suga complained, incredibly concerned as the second year stained the pillow and the sheets with tears. He felt terrible about throwing Ennoshita into this state, and suggested something to the room, “...Should I stop?”

“That might be for the best,” Tsukishima agreed, easily the most calm and collected aside from Suga, as Kageyama had also started to tear up, although he was staying silent as he swallowed the realization that he, nor anyone else, would never see Narita again. Tsukishima was also incredibly affected, as he was the only one in the room that had not directly witnessed any death on the mountain, but he hid it under his cool and unflustered exterior. He knew it was almost guaranteed that someone would not come back with them, but it was another thing entirely to actually have a death be established as true fact.

Suga nodded and leaned back, ready to return to his previous unemotional state when a loud noise echoed through the room, resonanting from across the room, “NO!!” It was Ennoshita again, who had thrown the pillow he was covering his face with to his feet but was still laying back and staring up at the florescent lights above him. Suga was shocked by this sudden outburst, as was everyone else in the room, and all four, even Yachi, looked on as he continued, “I mean… N-No. Keep going...”

Ennoshita continued to sob openly, although it was obvious that he was trying his best to settle himself down or at least to make his crying quiet. Suga questioned his motivations and did not want to continue further if Ennoshita was not going to be able to handle it, “Are you sure? I can just s-”

“No,” Ennoshita said assuredly, angling his head down so he was looking at Suga with his eyes surrounded by red, “I w-want t-to… I want to know.” Everyone in the room was surprised by this pragmatic reaction as everyone was sure that he would be the most adamant to stopping Suga from continuing further. Suga himself believed that when he was telling the story that Ennoshita would stop him before he had to also discuss the deaths of both Daichi and Kinoshita. “I’m s-sorry but… Could you please tell us… M-More,” the second year was able to work out through sobs, “It’s b-better… Better this way.”

Kageyama decided to speak up and support Ennoshita, sharing a kinship with the second year as both had to be the strength for their teammates when Noya was discovered, “He’s right. Just do as he says, please. Besides,” Kageyama turned and looked at Ennoshita, who was trying to right himself back to a sitting position, although his arm was shaking and trembling, “He’s strong, don’t misunderstand that.”

Suga considered protesting further, but he could see how determined they all were, even Ennoshita, to learn about the rest of his story, although he somewhat wished they did not press it further. “Okay, alright. So uhmm… Yeah, they checked how I was doing and told me about that, but didn’t want me to see anything because... But uhm…” Suga was a little flustered as he thought about what had happened now because of Ennoshita’s reaction and because of his own nervousness in getting around to discussing Daichi, “That’s when Yachi told us that she had found Daichi earlier.” Everyone’s ears perked up again upon hearing Daichi’s name, except for Kageyama, who had already assumed where this story was going and sat back to brace himself for terrible news. “She said he was hurt and needed help, so we rushed over to where he was. Apparently he was thrown pretty far ahead of and in front of the bus, so it was kinda far but it didn’t take too long. She did a good job leading us to him through the woods…. it was really dark…” Suga wanted to commend Yachi, knowing that she was listening, because he knew that she still blamed herself for not getting people there in time. Some part of him did blame her for not being more urgent when they found him or for not staying with him in the first place, but he knew that these thoughts were wrong. He knew that she did everything that she could and did not want her to shoulder the blame, although he still held these latent resentful emotions.

Afraid that these repressed feelings may resurface and he might say something he would regret, he pushed forward in the story, “He was… He was not doing well… At all. He wouldn’t respond to any of us and just… He just sat… There.” His words and sentences became more spaced out at his throat began to tighten up. He was starting to cry again, but he didn’t want to let it affect his voice and did his best to speak as clearly as possible, even if that might mean elongated pauses in the middle of sentences. To hide his crying eyes, he turned again to face the window, while also speaking slightly louder to compensate for not facing his teammates anymore, “He had this…pole... We couldn’t move him. There was too much…” He stopped himself before explaining the mass amount of blood that was pouring out of Daichi’s body at the time knowing that it was a detail they did not need to hear, “Too much to handle… We tried everything we could, everything… But he just… J-Just…” Suga sniffed loudly and covered his mouth and nose with one of his hands, hiding his now distorting face from his juniors although they all, even Tsukishima, knew that he was openly sobbing about this explanation. They knew the result before Suga delivered it but still he voiced it out for all to hear in his own way, “... F-Faded… He’s…”

“Suga,” Tsukishima interrupted, preventing the third year from saying the word he most feared, “It’s okay, we get it. You can stop.” The third year looked up to find that the others were all crying as well, even Tsukishima, although his facial expression was still as placid or apathetic as ever. He was trying his best to hold in his emotions and didn’t even seem to recognize or acknowledge that he was crying and instead simply allowed the tears to follow their natural path along the contours of this cheeks and chin. Kageyama was hunched forward and hiding his eyes with his forearm, feeling lost, like the heart that was guiding them up to this point through all of their training and all of their experiences, happy or sad, had been abruptly extinguished. He did not know Daichi much outside of the club, and neither did Tsukishima, but they both respected their senior to the highest degree and looked forward to seeing and playing with him every day in games and practices. Ennoshita however did know Daichi much better than the first years, having played and practiced with him for over a year now, even though he had temporarily retired from the team when he was a first-year. He was still crying like before, making it difficult to notice if he was still sobbing about Narita or if he was more depressed about Daichi. He kept aggressively rubbing his eyes with his undamaged hand, trying his best to collect and rub out all of the tears he had left, but they kept coming.

Inhaling loudly, Tsukishima spoke up once more, “Is uhh… Is that when they found you?” He was upset about Daichi and Narita’s passing but felt that, had they dwelt on the subject any more, Suga would break down more than Ennoshita had upon hearing about Narita’s death. He didn’t want to sound heartless, but it was best for his senior if they tried to move on as it was obviously a difficult thing for Suga to even think about.

“Wait!” Ennoshita interrupted before Suga could even respond. The third year knew what was coming, but let Ennoshita speak further, hoping that his premonition about what would be asked next was incorrect; he suspected Ennoshita would inquire about his best friend Kinoshita, and he was correct. “What about Hinata? You... said he w-was unconscious but… And… A-A-And Kinoshita...? What about them?” His sentences were broken and incomplete, but it was obvious what he was asking. In Ennoshita’s mind, he assumed that Hinata was still alive, as Suga had emphasized that the boy was okay to Kageyama, but he was mysteriously and worryingly quiet when talking about his best friend.

Wiping the tears from his face using the sleeve of his hospital gown, Suga turned to face Ennoshita, who was looking more desperate and disheveled than he did on the mountain, as if he had just been hit with a dozen years of age. His hair was spiked because of when he gripped it earlier and his face was completely red and seemed exhausted or even dehydrated. Suga did not want to cause further mental harm to the boy but he knew it was pointless to even try to argue to stop discussing the crash. He swallowed down the dry air in his mouth before revealing the fate of Hinata and Kinoshita, “A-As far as I know, Hinata is s-still alive... But he was unconscious the entire time I saw him, s-so I don’t know if he ever woke up since then. A-And Kinoshita… He was fine,” Suga said, thinking about how to word this, “...I-I thought he was at least... After Daichi, I don’t know what happened; he just disappeared… I didn’t see him again until we… until we were rescued and…I don’t know how but...”

“No…” Ennoshita said softly, interrupting Suga’s train of thought and speech. The way Suga was speaking was far too similar to when he discussed Narita and Ennoshita was intelligent enough to pick up on the context clues. He had been best friends with Kinoshita since middle school, despite knowing Narita for longer, and couldn’t imagine not seeing him again. Ennoshita even remembered when the three of them joined the volleyball team together and how Kinoshita protested at first, not even being that interested in sports or club activities in the first place. Narita and Ennoshita pressured Kinoshita into staying with them in the club and he soon loved it more than they, relishing the fact of having something exciting to bring home and talk to his family about. These thoughts swirled around in Ennoshita’s head like a typhoon roaring and ripping apart everything in sight. “B-B-But we… He s-said… I-I…” he stammered, unable to formulate a coherent thought as that seemed to swirl together into one confusing mess of an idea.

Suga felt terrible about bringing this to light and being the one to cause Ennoshita so much pain but at the same time had no idea how to make it better. He understood the pain of having a best friend pass and knew there was nothing that could be said to make it better; it was like he was a well-functioning computer and someone ripped into him and tore at all of the wires, ripping them out with reckless abandon and leaving the system in a state of internal anarchy. Suga had no idea how someone was going to fix himself and therefore was even more in the dark about Ennoshita, not being the one that shared all the experiences he had with Narita and Kinoshita. He tried to speak generic statements of regret, “Ennoshita, I’m so sorry about Kinoshita… I know…”

“No,” Kageyama put his hand up and interrupted his senior, stopping Suga from going further, “Just leave him alone. There’s nothing we can say,” Kageyama said, voicing the same words of wisdom that Suga was thinking, “... Nor should we even try.” Kageyama realized that he had sounded rather defeatist at this moment and didn’t want to give the wrong impression that they should simply give up on Ennoshita entirely, “At least right now, anyway.” Suga agreed with Kageyama and ceased speaking further, returning to watching the tree branches outside sway in the wind. Kageyama joined him in observing the nature, finding some sense of comfort in the soothing simplicity of the serene nature that, until recently, seemed so chaotic and even somewhat evil. No words were spoken in the room for quite some time and the only noise that now filled the room was the soft crying emanating from Ennoshita and Yachi, the former of which had resumed covering his face with the pillow to hide himself away from the world.

Many minutes passed in the white room now stuffed with a cornucopia of mixed emotions. Yachi had passed out from crying so much for so long, falling asleep still holding her pillow tightly like it was a loved one. After about fifteen minutes of silence, Kageyama decided to speak once more, watching water that had collected on the roof spill and splash off the leaves of the tree on Suga’s side of the room. Still depressed and recovering from his own tears, he spoke quietly, not embarrassed or even concerned that his voice was cracking from crying, “Hey Suga. Thanks,” he started, causing Suga to look at Kageyama out of the corner of his eye, “For telling us. It hurts, but it's better to know.” Suga nodded and returned to looking out of the window, wanting to forget everything that happened but also at the same time wanted to seal away and protect the memories he had with all of those that passed. “But,” Kageyama continued, “You were wrong.” Suga was now confused and curious, trying to think about what exactly he said that could be false, briefly playing with the idea that someone he claimed to be deceased was actually alive. “Earlier. You said we had no idea, that we don’t understand what it was like to see what you saw. You’re wrong.” Kageyama was completely serious and straight-faced as he continued to stare out of the window just like Suga had been earlier. Like Suga, he was trying to come to terms with the horrors he witnessed and, again like Suga, he wanted to prevent his teammate from having to explain what they saw due to their current emotional state.

The third year understood right away and looked at Kageyama with shock and fear on his face, the most expression he showed in quite some time. He had thought that his group was the only ones to experience and witness death on the muddy slope but based on Kageyama’s tone and intention, this obviously was not the case. Now with his mouth hanging open, Suga confronted this realization, “Y-You mean…”

“Mmhmm,” Kageyama hummed out a confirmation, hitting the third year and Tsukishima both with a hammer of realization, the latter who had been listening quietly while laying back on his bed, no way he could sleep now with his slight headache spreading, not feeling that speaking up would help in any way. To Tsukishima, words were now meaningless in this context; interrupting or stopping Kageyama now would not change the outcome of what had happened and simply allowed him to speak further without disruption.

“Wh-” Suga impatiently began, before being interrupted once more by Kageyama.

“Nishinoya.” The room went quiet once more as both Tsukishima and Suga sat in shock, not expecting to hear about yet another death on the team. Kageyama refused to deliberate further and explain to them that he was found crunched up and distorted, knowing that any more details would just make the acceptance more difficult. He treated it like ripping off a band-aid, causing one sharp sting of pain so that those listening have more time to recover and mend. Suga laid back in his bed for the first time since waking up, now trying to deal with four deaths on the team and hoping against everything that everyone else was alright, particularly those like Asahi and Yamaguchi still in surgery. Kageyama continued to look out the window as tears formed in both of his eyes and fell down his face in time with the drops of rain dripping off of the leaves.

Suga, having been collected and trying to keep his composure up until now, stared at Kageyama in disbelief as any discernable words of response got lost in his throat, culminating in a dry rattle emanating from his mouth. "No… Nishi… Noya too...?" Suga finally swallowed and muttered in response. The realization of yet another beloved friend meeting the same fate as Daichi, and even Narita and Kinoshita, hit Suga like a ton of bricks. He brought his hand up to his face to wipe away his tears only to realize something even more surprising: he was not crying. He felt like he was crying and even believed that he needed to cry at this moment, but nothing came out. The well had completely run dry and the third year fell back on his bed and looked out the window. Outside, the rain from earlier had finally resumed, as if acting as a surrogate for Suga’s, and everyone else’s, feelings. The rain pelted the window roughly, becoming the only sound that could be heard in the hospital room, and quickly covered the area with water once again, washing away the blood that stained the mountainside.

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Almost every single person in the waiting room paid close attention to the doctor as he stopped in front of them, clipboard in hand and breathed out. Dr. Hibiki looked exhausted as he took his left hand and flipped a page over to glance at it but set the page back down and then looked up at his awaiting audience. “I know you are all worried for your sons and daughters conditions but please…” he took another deep sigh before continuing, “Please be patient. We will keep you updated to the best of our abilities. Some of your children are still in surgery and it could take a while” he confirmed, running a hand through his hair. There were mutters and cries that could be heard making their way through all the parents as the doctor said these words. Every one of them, terrified to hear bad news, if they haven’t already heard it. “That being said, there is a few of you that I need to talk to right away” he continued catching the parents slightly off guard as he cleared his throat and spoke in a strong voice. “I need to speak to the parents of Tadashi Yamaguchi over here please.”

Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi looked at one another as their hearts pounded inside their chests, hoping for a good outcome for their only child. Slowly, Mrs. Yamaguchi stood and felt, just for a second, that her ankles wanted to give out as her husband caught her and stood her up again. Other parents watched in quiet solitude at the scene in front of them, hoping and praying as well that their child was alright. “Come on Misaki you can do it” Her husband implied reaching his arm around his wife and helping her to stand. Once standing, he let his arm slide back down and entangle with her fingers. She and him held hands, fingers practically digging into each other's flesh as they walked over to Dr. Hibiki.

Misaki, Tadashi’s mother, muttered quietly to her husband, “Thanks Hideaki, let’s go see about our son” as the two of them made their way over to the doctor.

Dr. Hibiki glanced at them and walked around the corner to a couch that was placed there. Once the Yamaguchi’s arrived he motioned for them to sit.

“Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi, I have some news on your son. Please sit,” he motioned with his hand to the couch as both parents awaited eagerly for news they prayed to be good. “Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi, your son, Tadashi, is currently in critical condition and is on watch by our emergency personnel. When we first found him on the side of the road, he wasn’t breathing.” Before the doctor could even finish his first sentence Mrs. Yamaguchi gasped out loud, breath caught in her chest as her husband's hand trembled in hers. The doctor quickly added, “We had to to resuscitate him but technically, your son was dead for approximately two minutes. Thankfully, we were able to keep him stable on the trip back here and we’ve kept him breathing for some time now. We do not expect any further scares like that but the crash did a great deal of damage to his right side and he lost a lot of blood. His heart is frail right now and we are trying everything in our power to keep him alive but…” Dr. Hibiki paused causing the two parents to fear further from the pause that the doctor left, waiting apprehensively, trying to stay positive through all of this but feeling like they were in a losing battle. Eventually Hideaki, Tadashi’s father, angrily spluttered,

“But what doctor!? What about our son?” Hideaki shouted tightening his grip on his wife's hand causing the circulation in both their fingers to turn whitish blue.

“Honestly, it's not a good situation. There is still a chance that we could lose him…” He stated directly. “I need you to understand that. We can patch him up easily enough but he’s lost so much blood in such a short amount of time that the situation is still rather fragile. It may also be the case that he will need further surgery for a transplant, depending on the extent of the internal damage…” Dr. Hibiki reiterated sighing out deeply.

“No… He can’t die… Doc, please you have to save him, he’s our only child! He-he means the world to us!” Tadashi’s mother yelled out, body shaking uncontrollably.

“Like I said Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi,” he paused this time, speaking with a clear-cut tone, “We are trying everything in our power to save your son. But I had to tell you the potential threat on his life. I need you to know that we are giving him blood back and that our surgeons have been working on him since the moment he arrived, and even before that, we had people working on him when he was in the ambulance. I know this is difficult to swallow and I pray that when I come back next it’s with good news. Just keep in mind that we are trying our best to save his life.” He concluded wiping sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, and leaving the parents to deal with their emotions. The Yamaguchi's sat on the couch where the doctor had left them, both hugging each other and crying, still keeping the slight ray of hope that their son, their only son, would make it through alive.

Back in the waiting room, Saeko stood talking to Akiteru in the same place she had been since first seeing him. She nervously tapped away at the buttons on her phone as Akiteru watched and, as she was typing, her foot nervously tapped on the ground erratically and unevenly. She stopped tapping and stared at her phone, needing her fingers together as finally a little notification popped up as some kind of message.

“So… What are you doing?” Akiteru asked as he leaned in closer to Saeko and watched over her shoulder, but then thought better of it as he quickly added, “N-nevermind… Sorry, that was rude of me.” Saeko sighed and stretched her arms up as high as they could go until bringing them down and sadly smiled at the boy next to her.

“I was just texting my grandma. She worries about us a lot after everything that’s happened with my pare-.” She paused, averting her eyes for a moment before looking back at the boy next to her. Akiteru noticed the hesitation in her voice and thought about what would be the best course of action to do here as he scratched the back of his head and said something, anything to fill the awkward silence.

“Um Saeko? Are… Are you okay? Did something happen to your parents? Do you want to talk about it…?” Akiteru questioned stroking a finger through his hair and trying his best to formulate a smile for the girl. Saeko saw this gesture and grinned slightly before setting her phone back into her pajama pockets and looked over at Akiteru.

“Ryu and I…” she began as the blonde boy focused in more to what she was telling him, “We lost our parents a long time ago… I believe Ryu was 4 and I was 9. At the time of the accident, I-I wasn’t old enough to take care of Ryu by myself and at the time our closest family was hours away. And there was a high possibility that we could have gotten separated if it weren’t for my grandma. She took us in so we wouldn’t be separated and has cared for us ever since. My grandpa died from cancer only a few years earlier so we were like her children. She’s a wonderful lady but she is very overprotective of us…” Saeko’s slight grin she had on before faltered and was now replaced with the sad grimace of a smile as she finished up her tale, “She can’t get around as easily as she used to so she calls and text a lot more. I don’t blame her though, I’d worry too if it was me. I just want her to know that Ryu is ok and tonight to be over with, but I can’t seem to text that to her because I don’t know if that’s true. Ryu could die and I’d be lying… I-I just can’t do this Akiteru...He’s the most important person in my life, without him I’m nothing.” Saeko admitted as she glanced down at the floor and felt like crying.

Akiteru stood, frozen as he wracked his brain to think of something to say. “I…” He began, then cleared his throat, “Wow… I’m so sorry for what you had to go through. I could never imagine life without my mom or dad. You are a strong woman Saeko. Many people would fail at what you do, but being able to practically raise your brother and working to get paid. That’s incredible. You are not weak at all, I hope you know that.” He finished as Saeko smiled and took her palms to press them into her eyes and wipe away the tears, while Akiteru brought her into a hug and she gladly took it.

“So much… So much has happened so fast.” she replied in a muffled tone she leaned into this man’s hug. At first, Saeko wanted to laugh internally as she thought about her situation. Here she was, meeting this guy for the first time today not even an hour ago and she was already in his arms crying. Yet somehow it felt right as she let her arms drop down and just let this man hug her. Akiteru eventually leaned away slightly embarrassed and Saeko thought that maybe he had the same thought as her. Ultimately, both broke apart and Saeko took her right hand and used her sleeve to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. “Thanks” She replied with a smile as was about to say something else but both heard the footsteps of Dr. Hibiki returning and looked over towards him.

Dr. Hibiki now returned with another Doctor, Dr. Kai, the man with Nishinoya’s family, and both made their way over to the waiting room. Dr. Kai cleared his throat and clarified, “Could I see the family of Kei Tsukishima” as Saeko quickly turned her head and glanced at Akiteru as he perked up at the sound of his brothers name and gulped.

“Good luck” she whispered as she put her hand on his shoulder, “Everything will be fine. Just take a deep breath.”

“Yeah… You're right, thanks.” he answered as he walked over hesitantly towards Dr. Kai as his mother and father joined.

Saeko watched his family leave as was about to rest her back against the wall once more when Dr. Hibiki came over to her. “You're the lady from earlier correct? The once asking about Ryunosuke Tanaka?”

“Yes that's me!” Saeko practically yelled, “Is he alright? Did his surgery go over well?” Saeko stammered, feeling a bit like a ditzy blonde.

“The surgery was a success and your brother is being taken to his room to rest up. I know that you will probably want to see him as soon as possible but be warned, he is asleep and very drowsy. He made it through surgery without any more complications so that is a big plus it itself. We fixed up the problem and overall he will be fine in time.” Dr. Hibiki said as Saeko felt the tears slide off her face once more. Those last words ‘he will be fine’ felt like the wall that was built up around the unknown finally cracked and fell apart. Knowing that her brother made it out alive and that he will get well overtime was the best news anyone could ever ask for. Saeko wiped her eyes again and looked up at the doctor before asking,

“C-can I go see him at least?” Saeko sniffled feeling her heart finally start to slow down to it’s normal rhythmic beating again.

Dr. Hibiki smiled and just nodded, “Yes you may see him, he is in room 4. Just remember to give him a little time to heal. I have to go tell other parents about their children, so i’ll leave you be” Dr. Hibiki smiled as he got up and walked back towards a Woman with a side ponytail in a mess of curls. All at once, everything around Saeko seemed a blur as she tried to focus in at her surroundings. Upon scanning the room one last time she saw that a lot of the family members that were there when she first arrived and dispersed and either went to see their children in their hospital rooms or went downstairs to the morgue. The room now looked almost like a ghost town as only maybe four or five families resided in the small room. The air feeling heavy as Saeko turned back around and headed off towards the direction of room 4, she was finally going to see her brother. When she got to his room, after what felt like the most agonizing walk she had ever done in her life, she stopped for a brief second, hand raised to the door knob. Saeko took a deep breath inwards as she opened the door slightly, before fully stepping inside. Finally, she saw Ryu. The door shut behind her and she hesitantly walked closer to the bed to get a better look. There he was.

Saeko barely made it to the bedside chair before breaking down completely taking Ryu‘s left hand in her own, tears leaking down her face in a mixture of bliss and horror upon seeing her brother this way. “It’s ok Ryu, I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere”.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG I just want to start off by saying THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE FOR THE AMAZING COMMENTS AND KUDOS!!!!!!!!! They really make me want to type faster so I could get these chapters to you quicker. Thank You so much Rob and Sonja (and even Heather Ahha.Interesting?)  
> The next chapter is my last one sadly but there will be an epilogue and even en extra page for all the drawings I've done or people have done for me. 
> 
> I highly sugest going to youtube and listening to epic sad battle music playlist while reading.

 

Chapter 9

 

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Beep…

 

  
  
  
  


 

 

...Beep……..

  
  
  


 

 

“We’re losing him! He’s going into cardiac arrest!” A surgeon impatiently yelled out from the other side of the operating table. The tips of her gloves covered in dark crimson blood as a younger nurse stood by her side glancing over at the heart monitor which had been beeping in a rapid rhythmic fashion just a few moments prior yet now it emitted a terrifying static drone across the board. A wave of misery seeped into the young nurse’s bones as she listened to the flat line of the heart monitor behind her, gasping behind her mask, she wanted to shut her eyes and cry but forced herself to keep them open.

The boy in front of her had to be in his mid-teens, only about 15-16 years old. _No… How could this happen… He’s… It’s just not fair… He’s too young for this…_ She thought as she wretchedly gazed at his lifeless form, his already pale body gradually getting whiter as it seemed to seep into his skin lying on the table before her. The more she stared, the more lost in the room she became, as if the room seemed to become a blur of the two surgeons yelling at each other behind their masks about something. All the while, one surgeon moved the ripped and shredded shirt off to the side and prepared some sort of gel on his chest, and the other one grabbed the defibrillator. This was only Nurse Mina’s first month of working here, and to have something like this happen so suddenly, the young girl seemed frozen as if everything she's learned up to this point seemed to leave her knowledge as she stood stumped. Before she knew it, there was a noise that snapped her out of her reprieve as she quickly spun around and saw Dr. Chi, the surgeon who was next to her a second ago, quickly grab the defibrillator and charge it up.  

Simultaneously, Dr. Mako, a man in his 40’s with piercing green eyes, rose his voice on the other side of the table in desperation. “No! We are not losing him yet! Dr. Chi is it charged yet?” he snapped as the woman hastily handed Dr. Mako the charged defibrillator.

“Yes, go ahead!” she hollered as the elder man took it in his hands and pressed it down on Tadashi Yamaguchi’s chest. Yamaguchi’s chest rose up as his body jerked a few centimeters off the table then fell back down again as the nurse cranked her head back towards the heart monitor and hoped desperately for the machine to start beating again.

The EKG, the machine that monitors the heart’s activity, emitted a beep but soon after the noise was heard Yamaguchi’s heart went back to a flat line. The nurse felt as if her heart couldn't take the pressure of the situation any further and prayed for the next charge to work. At this point in time, there was nothing for the nurse to do that wouldn’t get in the surgeon's way. Even if there was something for her to do, she felt like bricks were tied to her feet. Suddenly, Dr. Chi roared out another loud, “CLEAR!” and Dr. Mako set the defibrillator down above Tadashi’s heart.

Once more, the boy’s body rose and fell as it did previously, yet sadly the same effect seemed to repeat itself. Within milliseconds, a heartbeat rose from the shock through Yamaguchi’s body yet immediately disintegrated as the steady line of the heart monitor indicated another failure at reviving him. By now, the young nurse felt the tears slide down her face from the lack of beeping as she brought her right forearm up and wiped away the tears with her sleeve. She desperately wished for this boy to respond and closed her eyes, if only for a moment, hoping that the spark inside of him would return. She knew the chances of survival now had decreased, and she also knew about the brain damage that could arise now from the shocks, yet despite knowing all this, she was obligated to continue to believe in him.

Dr. Mako’s voice abruptly snapped Mina out of her thoughts as he motioned for her, “Nurse Mina, please if you would…” he said as he directed Nurse Mina with his eyes toward the section of the boy’s body that they were previously operating upon.  Blood had begun to slowly ooze out of the previous bandage on his side as Mina rushed over and tried to cover it up and clean the wound, continuously praying in her mind that it’s not too late. _No… Come on… Breathe… You can do it..._ Mina silently insisted as she tried to find a way to help the situation in the slightest. She cleaned the wound out and swiftly grabbed a giant cloth bandage from the table behind her as she proceeded to apply it to the bleeding area. Alarm and distress seemed to hang like fog surrounding the operating table, as if looming in place not wanting to let go, as Dr. Chi and Nurse Mina seemed distraught by the impending loss of life. Dr. Mako refused to give up, knowing that although it may ultimately be futile he still had to try one last time to revive Yamaguchi.

“I will not take no for an answer, boy!” Mako shouted as he charged the defibrillator up one last time. “I’m not done yet, we’re _not_ done yet! You will survive!” Right here and now was the last chance they had and Dr. Mako needed all the concentration and power he could muster. This was his last chance to save the boy. If he waits any longer, they will lose him for sure. “Come on…” He whispered more towards himself than anything else as he tapped his fingers nervously before hearing the “GO” from Dr. Chi and placed the defibrillator down on the unconscious boy below him all while yelling, “COME ON! WORK!” Both the nurse and Dr. Chi briefly stood back and watched in admiration at Dr. Mako commitment and determination to keeping this boy alive, despite the odds.

Tadashi’s body went up like it did the first two times and the heart monitor beeped yet again. Quickly after the initial tone, Yamaguchi’s heartbeat went back to its constant drone of a flat line and the room fell silent for a few seconds. Everything in the room seemed to dim and fade as if all hope, or what little was left of it, had been vented from the room, an empty, airless vacuum left behind in its place. The young nurse stared in horror, Dr. Chi next to her, Mina with her hands instinctively cupped over the mask that covered both her nose and mouth and Chi looking woefully at the ground in defeat.

“It’s over, Dr. Chi...” Dr. Mako  grimly looked away as if in shame for not being able to save the boy, “We need to call it.” The room was so silent that a pin drop could probably be heard a few rooms down, both Chi and Mina stared at the heart monitor, wishing that the endless plains would eventually spike up once more and give rise to an entirely new set of life-infused mountains. Mako shook his head sadly and stepped back away from the table Tadashi’s motionless body lay upon. As he moved, he broke the silence once more by questioning the others for the time of death.

Suddenly though, as if a miracle, a small noise echoed through the room. Dr. Mako stopped dead in his tracks before spinning around to see the source of the faint sound, half expecting to see one of the other monitors or electrical equipment in the room displaying some other sort of error or emergency message. In front of him, he saw Nurse Mina’s jaw drop as neither her nor Dr. Mako could believe what they was seeing with their own eyes. The heart monitor that was once nothing but a stale constant drone now displayed one of their greatest victories: Tadashi’s heart was beating once again.

The monitor in front of her was now moving with slow constant hums of a faint heartbeat, and now audibly being heard by all in the room. For a second, Dr. Mako stepped back and wiped the sweat and few tears off his face before speaking to the two girls in front of him on the other side of the operating table.

“Yes… Alright, his heart may be beating, but he’s not totally in the clear yet, people. We still need to make sure he doesn't go back into cardiac arrest. Dr. Chi, when you got the inflamed kidney out, were you able to successfully patch up that side before the flatlined happened?” Dr. Mako asked the positively flabbergasted doctor.

With Dr. Chi specifically called out and asked a direct question, she snapped out of her state of shock and disbelief and returned immediately to the task at hand. With great enthusiasm, she looked at her colleague and responded, “Yes sir! I was able to successfully get it out before the V-fib happened.”

Dr. Mako looked over at the young nurse and posed another question in order to return her to reality as well. “Good… Good, okay…Nurse Mina can you get the oxygen set up and get some air in this boy's body?”

“Y-Yes sir!” She quickly answered, happy to do something more useful and feeling bad that she hasn't helped out as much as she thought she could up until now. She came back over a few moments later and took an oxygen mask and hooked it behind Yamaguchi’s head and repositioned it so that it covered his mouth and bridge of his nose.

While Mina was hooking up the oxygen, Dr. Chi examined Yamaguchi’s right side, the source of the majority of the issues that plagued this surgery. Now that Tadashi was responding again, she needed to take off the bandage that Mina applied only moments ago in order to finish cleaning and stitching the wound.

“Ah ok good, well for now remember to keep an eye on his heart monitor.”, Dr. Mako indicated pointing to a specific area on Yamaguchi’s side before continuing “He should be through the worst of it, so that’s a relief, but we still must frequently check on him and ensure that he remains stable. Nurse Mina,” he indicated, making the girl fret that he might yell at her for being useless, but what he said instead shocked the young girl. “Thank you. You did well.” After hearing such a high compliment from one of the best surgeons in the hospital she felt the tears slide down her face before smiling under her facemask and saying thank you. “I would like someone in the room with him at all times to check him and rewrap his wounds when necessary. At least for the next hour or so...then we can hopefully get him more stable. Other than that…” The older surgeon's words slightly drifted away as Dr. Hibiki opened the door and walked inside checking on some initial charts. The doctor gave them all a small nod as he went through some file work on the back door. “Other than that,” Dr. Mako continued as a broad smile appeared across his lips and he announced, “Tadashi Yamaguchi should be in the clear. He made it through surgery. Good job everyone!” he concluded with extra emphasis near the end of his statement.

Dr. Hibiki smiled too as Dr. Mako stepped away from the boy on the operating table and towards him and struck up a conversation. “Good job in saving the boy, Doctor” Dr. Hibiki congratulated his comrade, patting him on the shoulder with a rather forceful strike.

Mako and Hibiki, having been colleagues and friends for quite a few years, aspired to attend each other’s surgeries for moral support if time permitted. Dr. Mako removed his mask and gave his friend a smile, “Yeah, it was tough and we almost lost him completely but he should be fine now, pending any further complications,” Dr. Mako answered as both he and Hibiki exited the area and began to discuss the details of the surgery.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Coma?! W-W-What do you mean he’s in a coma doctor?!” Hiromi Hinata stuttered out the last of her words before bringing one hand up to her mouth in a gasp as her other one held onto Natsu’s weak, tired hand with all her might. The little girl easily awoke seconds prior when her pillow she was using, her mother's lap, moved, waking her from her slumber as she fell off the chair in which she was sitting. Landing on her feet in a relatively stable standing position, she tiredly wiped the back of her left wrist over her eyes and drowsily glanced up at her mother who was making a ruckus in front of some old man in a white robe.

“How did something like that even happen?!” Mr. Hinata practically argued with Dr. Kai as the elder gentleman huffed out a sigh and prepared himself to speak. Hisai, Hinata’s father, was standing by his wife with a stern yet worried face as the doctor began.

“When someone,” the doctor gestured to the Hinata’s and continued, “Like your son, suffers a rough blow to the head, which can easily happen in either a simple or a severe incident, there is always a chance,” he began now pointing to his own head, “That the trauma induced upon the brain at the particular time of the accident can cause brain damage. This, in turn, could easily lead to a coma.”

“I… I know _how_ a coma can occur… I just…” Hisai began now confusing his own thoughts with facts, “Is… Is it common for something like this to even happen to someone so young though?” Hisai chimed in fear and distraught covering his features.

“The type of coma that your son has is actually quite common.” Dr. Kai explained as he noticed the two parents were visibly tense. “Thankfully, we have dealt with, and treated, patients in comas prior to tonight, so as long as he remains hospitalized, we will monitor his vitals and keep him healthy.” This seemed to alleviate some of the Hinata’s worries that had been built up. Dr. Kai’s confidence and experience gave them a sense of security that their son will recover from this tragedy, though that sense was still trifling compared to their understandable concerns over the entire issue. Unfortunately, Dr. Kai did not only have words of encouragement, and needed to make the parents aware of the unknown, “However, you do need to be aware that every coma is different and it is inherently a mystery. We will not be able to tell how long your son will stay in this state, although they normally don’t last longer than a month. Furthermore, we don’t know the extent of any potential brain damage he coul-” The doctor tried to explain.

“Brain damage?!” Hiromi shouted as Natsu glanced up at her mother and tugged on her hand, turning her head curiously to the side. The child clearly had no idea what was happening and only knew that her brother was somewhere in the building asleep, according to what her father said.

“How long with Shoyo be sleeping?” Natsu questioned sleepily, interrupting the conversation between her parents and the doctor. She rubbed her eye as she spoke and started to yawn in the middle of the sentence since her bedtime was easily five or six hours before then.

Natsu’s father quickly stood up and picked his daughter up under her armpits, bringing her up to his chest and letting her use his shoulder as a pillow. “Shh, shhh, it's okay, Shoyo’s just sleepy, honey,” he said, patting his daughter on the back and swaying gently, “It’s past his bedtime, so he’s asleep, Natsu. Aren’t you tired too?” He questioned, rubbing circles into her back and speaking softly. He turned to his wife and gave her a nod, telling her to continue with Dr. Kai while he deals with Natsu. She understood his signal and nodded in turn, to which Hisai began to walk to the other side of the room, still holding his daughter.

“Yes, daddy…” she said quietly, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

As Hisai slowly walked away, Hiromi turned back to Dr. Kai and asked him again about the brain damage, this time more calmly than before. Kai ran a hand through his thin hair and continued explaining, “Well as I said we aren’t sure if he will have any issues or not. We ran Shoyo through a CT scan earlier but that mainly just tells us how he got into the coma. From what we know, the pressure that built up inside of his head was actually rather minimal, so it is likely that he will wake up completely fine,” He said, trying to calm the mother who looked like she was beginning to cry. Though he was trying to make her feel better, nothing he said was a lie and he really believed everything he said to her, “But there is always a chance that his situation could get to the point that he may lose some things. You need to know that.”

Hiromi nodded, aware of the situation he clearly laid out to them and also painfully aware that there’s nothing she can do to fix or assist in any way. “W-when can we see him?” Hiromi asked quietly, turning back around to face Natsu and Hisai, the former of which had already fell back asleep.  She could not even begin to imagine how to eventually explain this to their daughter, who will soon ask more questions as to when her brother will be coming home and why he is always sleeping.

Dr. Kai put his hands together and gave a large sigh, exhausted from the extended night he’s been through, normally clocking out 3 or 4 hours prior to this point. “Well right now he is getting some other small scans done and it is honestly getting very late. I cannot deny you access if you insist on seeing him but in all honesty you should probably take your daughter home and come back in the morning when all the scans are done. He is being taken care of in a room of his own and we will watch over him. I understand your worry, I have three children of my own, but trust me when I say we will do everything in our power to treat your son.” Dr. Kai finished, noticing how tired this poor family looked.

“No... I -I understand where you are coming from but I still want to see my son before I go back home. Please, just let me see him Doctor.” Hiromi pleaded looking back at Natsu to her husband. “Please...let us just see him, if only for a minute”. Hisai walked up behind her and silently nodded, indicating that he agreed and wished to see their son that night.

Dr. Kai sighed but he knew he couldn’t refuse them access to their son so he gestured with his arm, “Alright, follow me then”.

************

Dr. Hibiki walked out of the elevator and toward the lobby to find the Yamaguchi family and inform them of their son’s successful surgery. Upon arriving, he found the area had become less crowded than before as some parents had been released to see their respective children. Because of the decreased traffic, the staff attending the area had proportionally decreased down to just the single receptionist, who was having a difficult time handling and dealing with everyone left but seemed to be working well. Unlike the previous meeting Hibiki had with this family, there was no one near Tadashi’s parents, so Hibiki did not have to tell them to move to a different area or escort them away from any unwanted eavesdroppers. Instead, both parents, a pair of nervous wrecks with deep red faces, rapidly stood at the sight of him, ready to hear the outcome of the elongated surgery.

Dr. Hibiki sighed and prepared himself to distribute the diagnostic. “Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi...” he said, walking up quickly as both parents awaited anxiously for the news on their son. While they waited, the two barely said a word to each other, each preferring to sit in silence and deal with their own daydreams or nightmares concerning what would be the final result.

“Well?” Yamaguchi’s father worriedly asked, sweating and half-expecting the worst.

Upon reaching the parents, the doctor looked down at the paperwork one last time until before raising his head and meeting both parents’ frightened eyes. Dr. Hibiki stood up straight in front of the two and began his deliberation, “I told you last time I spoke to you about the dangerous condition your son was in, and the possibility of losing him...”

Misaki nodded slowly as Hibiki spoke, dreading the foreseeable outcome about her son but continued to keep her hopes high for her him. Hideaki reached his arm down to intertwine his fingers with Misaki’s, as a similar look of impending doom started to seep its way into his face as he tried his best to conceal his fear. “Is he-” Misaki began, trembling and looking about ready to break down before Dr. Hibiki put his finger up and stopped her mid-sentence.

“But,” Dr. Hibiki continued, “I also told you that the next time I come back it would be with better news. I’m here to keep that promise and inform you that after a long, hard, and intensive process of surgery, Tadashi is stable and in recovery now.” Upon finishing this statement Dr. Hibiki smiled as he watched the Yamaguchi’s reactions of happiness, “Your son is going to be alright.”

The flood of tears that had originally surfaced themselves because of the uncertain fear of possibly losing their son had finally burst through Misaki’s eyes. What felt like eternal bliss brought her down the floor, crying, her long wavy black hair falling over her shoulders and into her face. Her hand that was tangled with her husband’s only seconds before was now up by her eyes with her other hand, aggressively trying to wipe the tears of joy away. The happiness seemed contagious as Hideaki felt his legs start to lose strength as well and he sat back down on the couch and cried, thanking the heavens above as his euphoria over his son's recovery seemed to reverberate through every inch of his body. Hideaki felt the tears of overwhelming joy slide down his face as he leaned back onto the couch that they were originally resting on only moments before, his head back and his hand covering up his eyes as he shook in delight.

“I-I just… Oh Tadashi!” I’m… So glad… You’re safe” Hideaki tried to speak through the joy he was feeling but the tears made it hard to understand as he wiped them away along with the dripping snot that had accumulated. The doctor took this moment to relax his tense muscles as he smiled to himself. Moments like these are the reason he wanted to be a doctor to begin with.

Noticing that Tadashi’s parents needed to know what happened, Dr. Hibiki spoke up after a few seconds, “It was a long and stressful procedure but I need to tell you of the complications that will arise with your son due to the accident. Even though we were able to save Tadashi, he was broken pretty badly… Due to the crash itself, and the fall damage he took, a great deal of damage was done to the right side of his body. One of his Kidneys was not able to be saved and had to be surgically removed for fear of complications.” Dr. Hibiki announced as Misaki found the strength in her legs again and forced her way to sit back up on the couch next to her husband, tears still running down her face as she held onto his left arm with both of her hands.

“Oh my God… Tadashi…” She whispered trying to turn her mind away from all the horrors her son had to witness on the mountain tonight.

“Whatever it is, if he needs anything… Please take it from me! I will gladly donate one of my kidneys in order to have Tadashi live a normal life, and I am sure my wife agrees with me.” Hideaki suddenly spoke up, Misaki nodding in agreement as Dr. Hibiki took a deep breath and flipped over the page on his clipboard.

Historically for the doctor, whenever a child is in need of an organ or a transplant, the parents almost always volunteer themselves first, so hearing Hideaki and Misaki offer themselves up so easily did not surprise him in the least. However, it would not be right to accept such a hastily-made decision, particularly since, even though they are his parents, they may not be the best fit. “Yes, that might be something that you will want to look into” he simply stated and continued as the two parents sat in silence, patiently listening.

“Well his right kidney had to be removed, as I stated before, and he suffered two broken ribs… And a fractured third one.” The doctor sighed as he stroked the thin beard on his chin and took a deep breath after discussing the diagnosis, as informing the parents of an injured child was always the most terrifying part of the job to him.

“C-can we see our son?” Hideaki announced looking up at Dr. Hibiki in a pleading way. Dr. Hibiki glanced over at both Hideaki and Misaki before speaking.

“Yes, you two may go see him. I will walk you back if you wish, but need I remind you that he will not be awake. He's on heavy sedatives and he is very weak. It will take a while to heal and I know you two must be scared but please be patient with him. He will heal in due time just believe in him.” Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi nodded and eagerly stood up to follow Dr. Hibiki. The three of them walked down a corridor while the doctor exchanged more information. “Now, concerning your son’s right leg…” Hibiki began as Mr. and Mrs. Yamaguchi hoped that by talking about the kidney and everything else that that would be the worst of it. “He suffered a pretty nasty break during the accident and in truth, I believe that will take the longest to heal, but it is curable, I assure you. The bone will heal in due time, he will have to come back for a few scans and x-rays but overall it will heal eventually.”

Yamaguchi’s parents glanced at each other briefly before saying anything as they walked alongside Dr. Hibiki. “How long do you think it will take to heal?” Hideaki asked as he and his wife continued to follow the doctor down the hall.

“Probably about a month or two. Many ordinary tasks will become a problem for your son and there is a high possibility of him having to use an inhaler if his lungs don't produce enough oxygen for his body. He will be restricted to a wheelchair for the time being, I don’t want to see him walking for a while, for now it could cause further strain on his leg that he doesn't need.” The doctor told the pragmatics of the injury as both parents looked slightly horrified trying to take in all the information at once, and barely even able to speak.

“Overall, I would say that your son is lucky to be alive, one minute longer and-” Dr. Hibiki started but stopped himself when he noticed the horror on Misaki’s face. Instead he settled for a more easy approach. “If our paramedics didn’t find him when they did, if that young boy didn’t tell them to save Tadashi first, if all of what happened on that mountain when our paramedics arrived was any different,” he paused, and stood in front of the door to Yamaguchi’s room before going in. “There would have been a very high probability that Tadashi would not be here right now. I’d say he should thank his stars that he’s alive.” Dr. Hibiki acknowledged as he waited for the information to sink in and for the parents to look back up at him once more before he turned the knob leading into the room.

The first thing that Misaki noticed was how cold the atmosphere felt. There her son was hooked up to all these medical equipment’s, half of them she had no idea what they were. He lay with a mask covering his mouth connected to a machine that emitted a soft and rhythmic puff noise. Here their son was, pale, and as still as can be with one leg propped up and a blanket covering his body, yet it didn’t feel like their son. Hideaki walked slowly across the room with his wife by his side towards Yamaguchi’s bed and both just stared in horror.

“Oh Tadashi…” Misaki cried as she fell into the chair next to her son’s bed and took his right hand in her own while her husband stood standing, taken aback by his son’s grimly appearance. As soon as Misaki grabbed her son's hand she felt the slight chill beneath the surface as she brought her other hand up and grabbed hold of it as well in hopes to keep him warm.

With both hands now on her son’s right hand she wept and Dr. Hibiki thought it was the perfect time to leave and give this family their space as he turned towards the parents and simply said, “I need to attend to other patients, so if you will excuse me...” he explained as his sentence lightly trailed off and he knew that Yamaguchi’s didn’t care or even both to answer him and he stepped out of the room and made his way back down the hallway.

Once out of Yamaguchi’s recovery room he walked no more than 10 steps when a nurse opened up a door to his left and called out to him.  “Dr. Hibiki” She acknowledged, holding a clipboard in her hand. “There you are. I was looking for you, I was actually just about to page you. It’s time to prepare for our next surgery, care to walk with me?”

Dr. Hibiki turned towards the nurse and smiled, “Why Akame, hello. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you at night shift. How’s the little angel at home been doing?” he asked, joining Nurse Akame in walking down the hall towards the elevator.

“She’s definitely a handful but I’ve never been happier.” Akame responded as Hibiki pressed the button to the elevator and waited for the doors to open.

“That’s good, you’re going to make a great mother. So who’s up next for surgery?” Hibiki asked the slight grin on his face falling as a ding was heard and the double doors opened up the the small elevator shaft.

Akame paused, looking down at her clipboard for a second to find the name of the next individual who needed surgery. Once found she looked back up and replied, “Chikara Ennoshita in Room 208”.

“I see… Alright” Doctor Hibiki stared as the doors opened to the second floor and the two of them stepped out “What is the extent of his injuries again?”

“Well,” Akame began as they stepped out and started walking down the hallway. “He has a Colles' fracture on his right wrist and three broken fingers: the thumb, index finger, and pinky. We have already informed him when he first came in of the procedures that he will undergo, so he should know what to expect.” The nurse finished talking as they came up to room 208, the room where Ennoshita was being held.

While Hibiki met with The Yamaguchi’s downstairs, Yachi lay curled on her side sleeping with her body coiling around one of her pillows as if it were her last lifeline. Her mother sat beside her and ran her fingers gently through her daughter's hair. Madoka Yachi looked tired, as if she herself would fall asleep at any given moment, yet still she continually hummed a soft lullaby for her baby girl.

She knew she couldn’t stay much longer because of the hospital's policy of the visiting hours, as outlined to her by the nurses that led her and the other family members up to Room 208; and yet she didn’t want to lose sight of her only child, even for a second. She understood why she had to leave and wasn’t mad at the hospital for staying true to their policy but she was so scared. She was scared for her daughter. She knew she looked fine overall, her physical damage wasn’t life threatening, but that wasn’t the problem. Hitoka had always been more faint hearted than others. She knew that this was only the beginning of her daughter’s recovery and wished more than anything she could help her, but the small amount of time she had allotted was nearly gone. Madoka glanced up at the clock on the wall and visibly sighed _…1:00am… It’s so late, maybe I should head out soon?_ She thought as she turned her head back from the clock hanging above the door and back towards her little girl, smiling sadly.

Ennoshita sat across from her, cradling his broken wrist in his opposite hand and staring down at it dejectedly, deep in thought. Both his mom, dad, and even his older sister came by to visit him a while ago and refused to leave unless they knew for absolute certainty that he was alive and well. It was actually at Ennoshita’s request that they go back home and rest, even though his mom was persistent on staying.

“Mom, please… I’m fine. You look tired. You guys should go home and get some rest. Don’t worry… I’ll still be here when you come back tomorrow.” Ennoshita concluded after a few minutes of arguing. Toshi Ennoshita, Ennoshita’s father, finally agreed with his son and told his wife that she needed rest too and that everything would be fine.

“Seryu, Chikara’s right. We really should let him rest.” Toshi said turning to his son as if asking with his eyes if he was sure, and Ennoshita nodded return. Seryu was always a worrywart, as she scanned over her son’s gruesome hand injury and asked for the fourth or fifth time if he was sure he was okay.

This time Umi, Ennoshita’s older sister, answered back with a slight sarcastic tone, “Yes mom, for the hundredth time Chikara is fine…”. Ennoshita smiled at this as he remembered how normal his life used to be and glanced down at his hand again as memories of what happened this night flooded back into his mind. Just the thought of him getting out with just a simple hand injury while Kinoshita and Narita and the others had their whole lives taken away from them still didn’t seem fair.

Suddenly, he felt a tear slide down his eye and quickly went to wipe it away but was too late for another hand came up and wiped it for him. He looked up to see his mother’s caring face sweetly coo to him as she embraced him in a graceful hug. “It’s alright sweetie, you’re safe now and that’s all that matters right now. You just focus on getting better alright? We will come back in the morning to visit you”.

Ennoshita smiled and thanked his mother as he brought up his good arm and gave her a half hug. “Thanks” he replied as he watched all three of them walk back out the door saying their farewells and “I love yous” until they disappeared into the hallway where they whence they came.

Next to him Kageyama rested on his back with his head on his pillow facing towards his mother, Mia, who looked just as disheveled as he. It was obvious that his mother didn’t care to even attempt in putting makeup on or even finding something nice to wear as she sat between her son's bed and the window with baggy sweat pants on and an oversized T-shirt. Katsu, Kageyama’s father, arrived in a pair of slacks and a button up shirt. Katsu and Mia stood on opposite sides of the bed, each with their arms crossed, not even bothering to look at one another. Only a few words were exchanged between the parents ever since each arrived and only when absolutely necessary. Now that they had the chance to see their son and discover that he is quite well, the conversation, what little there was, between the three of them grinded to a complete awkward halt.

Katsu Kageyama, a strict man who rarely spoke, looked down at his son with an unreadable face. In a way that scared Kageyama, as he was not sure if his father was mad at him or sad because he’s hurt. Kageyama’s whole life revolved around making his father proud, but ever since the divorce, things have been really awkward between them. Once his father found out that Kageyama was superb at volleyball, Kageyama could visibly see how happy and proud his father became, a feeling that up until that point could not be acquired. With Kageyama’s poor grades and lackluster social skills, it felt like Volleyball would be the only thing that could finally bring them closer. With the accident and the injuries it caused, both to Kageyama himself and to the rest of the team, he worried that if the Volleyball team disbanded or he stopped playing for a period and lost his skills because of that, his father would lose that reason to be proud. He was afraid his father would lose that motivation to satisfyingly claim Kageyama as his son and not a disappointment.

Kageyama was far too young to remember why his parents got divorced or to even recall a time when his parents were together. The terms of the divorce stated Katsu was still allowed to see his son but his mother Mia had full custody over Tobio and he lived with her. His mother Mia, was a sweet lady who worked two jobs and always seemed to try her hardest to make her son happy, Tobio’s happiness always came before her own.

“Tobio darling! I was so worried about you all night long…Are you okay? Does it hurt?” Mia exclaimed as she scooted her chair as close to the bed as possible and grabbed hold of her son’s free hand.

“Mia, stop. Tobio’s been through enough. He doesn’t need you pestering him every second. Can’t you see he just wants to sleep?” Katsu fired back as Mia suddenly stopped talking in mid question and looked over at her son’s frightened face. She had never seen him look this way  before, it was definitely something she never wanted to see again.

“I can care about Tobio however I want to Katsu!” She snarled back and returned her focus on her only child as her ex-husband scuffed in return, “I-I’m sorry… Tobio darling, your father and I mean well but we just have different ways of showing it…”. She began as Kageyama glanced her way and saw tears fall from her face before she continued, “I’m just so happy you’re alive! I was so worried… I was so s-scared...”

“Yeah, so was I,” Kageyama answered as bluntly as ever. His mom and dad looking at him wondering if he really was okay. With this, the awkward silence from earlier returned between the three of them as all three hung their heads as if in shame of one another.

In stark comparison to the silence that hung over the Kageyama’s, Sugawara’s family across the room made quite the notable racket. Suga sat glancing down at his littler brother and sister in his lap, both of them happy and joyous to see their big brother, yet Suga still felt like an outsider. As if he was outwardly disbanded from the world around him, his two younger siblings sat nestled in between his legs calling out for their big brother over and over again, their voices fading into thin air. Rika Sugawara, Suga’s mother, sadly observed her children and knew that this accident hit her eldest son the hardest. Not only did her son lose his best friend but for him to lose so many loved ones in one night, she didn’t even know what she would do, it was hard enough when her husband died but he was one person and this is many. Sure, she missed him every day and knew that he would have been happy to see the man his Koshi has become, but still, to lose so many people you care for all in the same night, that was just too much even for her to think about. She tried to console her son and tell him that things would be okay but even she didn’t even believe in what she said, as if her words had no meaning.

“Big brother? What’s this thing on your nose for?” Yoshiro, Suga’s little brother, asked leaning in closer to Suga’s face and lightly touching the bandage on his nose.

“It’s to help protect my broken nose, Yoshiro” Suga coldly and emotionlessly replied looking down at his younger brother who was wearing T-Rex pajamas.

“Why is your nose broken? Did somebody hurt you brother?” Shiori piped up now crawling closer to Yoshiro. Shiori also wore similar pajamas to her twin brother Yoshiro, only hers had cats on them.

The twins looked disheartened as Koshi stopped talking and took a deep breath. “No…” Suga began holding back his sobs, “No one hurt me… It…” Suga began but stopped as his eyes slowly gazed out the window once more, watching the water trail down it. After a few moments of staring out the window in silence, he returned his gaze to his two twin siblings. “It was just an accident. Don’t worry guys.” Suga finished as his mother noticed the sorrow etched in his words. “Mom…” Suga said, catching Rika slightly off guard.

While Koshi was talking with his younger siblings, Mrs. Sugawara listened apprehensively, as if she was a ghost eavesdropping in on their conversation. Now that she’s been forcefully dragged into the conversation without warning, she was completely unsure as to what her son was about to ask, as well as a little afraid. “Yes honey?” Rika asked, concern for her son as she leaned in closer.

“Can you tell Yoshiro and Shiori that I’m sorry, but I just… I just need some time to think alone…” Suga said without even looking at his mother, instead falling back into his previous habit of continually staring at the rain scattering off the leaves outside.

Mrs. Sugawara nodded, knowing how hard that was for him to say and called for the twins to get down off the bed and give their brother some space. She lifted Yoshiro off the bed and while Shiori maneuvered herself to the ground,Rika explained to them that Koshi was very tired and that his siblings can see him again soon. “I understand, and it’s okay honey, just take your time. I’ll be back in the morning to see you... Alright?” She sweetly said with a slight bit of uneasiness still left in her voice. She kissed her son goodbye and walked over towards the door to the room with her two kids and left.

Tsukishima, who was lying on his back deep in thought with his eyes staring tiredly at the panels that lined the ceiling, suddenly remembered the bright lights of the ambulance that approached them and wondered if Yamaguchi was alright. Deep down Tsukishima was terrified for the outcome of his dear friend. He knew his chances didn’t look too good as he thought about what life would be like without him and after a few minutes of thinking turned his head away from the bright lights above him and took his pillow and pulled it over his head. He didn’t want these thoughts anymore, he didn’t want to feel like he was the only one who didn’t know about him, he needed to know if he made it out alive. After a while of staying in this position, Tsukishima returned is pillow back to it’s original place and turned his head back to relax on it.

All of a sudden though, a soft click of the door was heard and Tsukishima knew by sound alone that it was coming from his family in the hallway, his brother could be pretty loud sometimes. With fatigue already seeped into his body from long ago, Tsukishima just couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Now with his mother, father, and brother coming into the room and crowding around his bed, he knew that there was going to be no sleep tonight or not until his family left. Irritation slowly filled his features but he didn’t snap back or tell them to leave because he was glad that they were there. He’d never admit it, but he was pleased that they were there talking to him; it eased his mind from the devastating thoughts that were constantly being repeated in his brain. Just by this family being there, it took all the focus of what happened tonight off his shoulders, if only for a moment. The fear and dread that he felt was being pushed back more and more continued to resist, constantly crawling back to the forefront of his mind.

“KEI!” Akiteru proclaimed as he hurriedly rushed into the room and over to his bedside, his parents trailing behind him. “We’re so glad you’re alright! How are you feeling?” he finished as his mother and father came up to is bedside and smiled down at him.

“Alright is kinda pushing it dontcha think? But yeah, I’ve been better…” He replied snarkily, making Akiteru’s smile broaden just knowing that his brother was alive and well.

Before his mother or father had a chance to say anything, Kei quickly asked, “Have you heard anything about Yamaguchi?” and both parents glanced at each other, then over at Akiteru.

“No... Sorry Kei. We haven’t heard anything about Yamaguchi. I know about Tanaka and his torn ACL from talking with his sister Saeko, and about a few other things… But nothing about Tadashi.” Akiteru said glumly. Honestly, he hadn’t even considered what had become of Yamaguchi, despite it being his brother’s best friend, as his focus was completely tunnel-visioned the moment he received the call about the accident.

“I see...” Tsukishima sadly responded as worry sunk further down inside him and he thought about why there was no news yet. _Maybe they just don't want to tell me?_ Tsukishima thought as he tried his best to keep up his strong positive behavior he had earlier.

Tsukishima’s mother sat down in the empty chair next to her son as his father rested his hands on the back of it, “Kei…” his mother began but stopped as if afraid to ask the next part of her question. “H-How are you feeling? You look in pain… D-Do you need anything?”

At first Tsukishima wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it sounded but chose against that idea. “No… I’m just tired… And-” He started to answer but immediately cut off his speech when he felt an intensive ache in his forehead again. It was as if all pain hit Tsukishima at once and concentrated it to his forehead, as he cringed and gripped the sheet of his bed automatically.

Before his family could even react or ask him what’s wrong the male nurse that walked in with him when he first arrived, opened up the door to the room and noticed the pained expression on the first year’s face. The man hurried over to the machines next to his bed and looked at the time. “Looks like your medicine is wearing down. Time for another dose, Kei” the man said as he check the different solution levels to make sure everything was correct on the medicinal rack that resided right next to the boy.

Tsukishima’s family stood back and let the nurse do his work as Tsukishima himself laid back down as easily as he could with the back with his head on the pillow and stared up at the bright florescent lights on the ceiling tiles yet again, blinking instantaneously. As the nurse administered a new dose of medication into his IV, Tsukishima closed his eyes tighter and cringed his teeth.

“I knew it was almost time to change your medicine but I didn’t expect you to act so quickly…” The nurse, Kodaka, said as he finished up administering the medication.

Just then, the door opened yet again and in walked Dr. Hibiki with Akame to his side. Dr. Hibiki strolled on down the aisle scanning all the patients and their families until his eyes landed on Chikara Ennoshita.

“Ah it seems like we have quite a bit of company now, eh, Chikara?” Dr. Hibiki said trying to lighten the atmosphere if just a tad. “How’s your arm feeling?”

“It’s still pretty numb, so it doesn’t hurt as much but it looks…” Ennoshita answered honestly and Dr. Hibiki bent down a little closer to inspect it.

“Yeah, well… That’s what surgery is for. Don’t worry son, before you know it that hand of yours will be fixed in no time!” Hibiki smiled which seemed to calm the nerves in Ennoshita as the second year sighed and prepared himself. “So are you ready for surgery?” he asked as Ennoshita hesitantly nodded.

“I...I guess so…” Ennoshita gulped as he glanced back and caught eyes with Kageyama who just wished him luck and then glanced over at Suga who had previously retreated back into his shell and quietly sat with his back against the headboard staring out the window, eyes dead and motionless. The third year was lost, more lost than he had ever felt in his entire life as he listened to the onslaught of rain outside, deep in thought. Ennoshita then sadly turned his gaze to Yachi to see how she was doing and noticed she was still asleep as her mom finally got up and kissed her forehead goodbye and took her leave, as she sluggishly walked out the door with a heavy yawn. He looked over at Tsukishima’s family and saw the poor boy grimace in pain as his brother seemed to nervously pace around the foot of the bed.

Finally, he returned his gaze and looked right at the nurse in front of him and nodded. She then began the normal preparations and, once everything was situated, moved around to one side of the bed while another nurse grabbed the other side and wheeled him towards the door. Dr. Hibiki decided to follow after them and made his way walking over towards the door too, when Tsukishima stopped him. The pain had subsided enough as the first year opened his eyes and tried to voice out “Doctor” but his slight cough he had at the time masked the word that even came from his mouth. He knew by the sound of his voice that he had heard this man before when he first came to this hospital, but even so he had to ask any doctor how Yamaguchi was doing. A doctor should know, and it was killing him on the inside not knowing about his friend.

“Doctor!” Tsukishima began again, this time much louder and almost pleading the word as the door in front of Dr. Hibiki closed and he turned around and headed over to Tsukishima’s bedside to stand in-between Akiteru and Tsukishima’s parents.

Hibiki softly folded up the pages of Ennoshita’s report and put them to his side so no one else could see anything in it. “Yes, son?” he politely replied waiting for the boy to finish his question. The rest of his family, plus Nurse Kodaka, looked mildly confused as well aside from Akiteru, who already guessed what burning question was still on his brother’s mind.

“By any chance… Do-” Tsukishima hesitated before gulping down the lump in his throat and completed his question. “Do you happen to know what happened to the boy I came in with? His name is Tadashi Yamaguchi. Please! I need to know if he’s alright!” Tsukishima practically yelled now, causing Kageyama to glance over at him and ignore his parents silent yet tense quarrel they were currently having.

“Tadashi Yamaguchi…?” Hibiki repeated getting cut off by the eager first year.

“Yes, him! Is-Is he okay? Did… Did he make it out of surgery?” Tsukishima urgently asked as Akiteru and his parents now looked at Dr. Hibiki as well. Tsukishima felt like his heart was racing at the speed of light.

“You’re the boy that came in with him?” Tsukishima nodded, looking at Hibiki expectantly. The doctor sighed, “Well, truthfully, he’s not out of the woods yet. He has gone through a lot and has received some pretty bad injuries, inside and out, but,” Tsukishima tensed as the doctor continued. “With the medical attention he’s getting, I can assure you he’ll be just fine.”

The words after felt fuzzy, Tsukishima could tell the doctor was still talking, wrapping up the conversation with words of encouragement and small hand gestures. Tsukishima blinked, comprehension creeping in as if realization finally hit him. “I… Yama’s going to be okay?”

“Yes he is, son,” Hibiki began, glancing around the room and witnessing the relieved faces of the other conscious students. He returned his gaze back to the first year and stepped closer to the bed, “And I’m sure once he’s more stable he would love to see all of you. His parents went in to visit him just a few minutes ago, actually.” Tsukishima moved, attempting to sit up, but stopped once Dr. Hibiki held up his hand, insisting that Tsukishima stay where is is for the time being. “I know your first instinct is to go see him, but he needs time. You need time.” Tsukishima paused and looked at the rest of his teammates, and even his family, before lowering his head. 

His emotions burst forward as if jettisoned from the barrel of a shotgun, every feeling and reaction hitting simultaneously, each more complicated than the next. He felt a sense of relief, though still soured by the desperation that remained inside of his mind ever since he awoke inside the hospital. He experienced a rush of intense fatigue and pain, both of which he had subconsciously resisted until news reached him concerning his friend, the only one he would delegate with that honor. His heart wrenched inside him as Tsukishima felt tears slide down his face, to which he brought his hand up to wipe his eyes.

“He’s going to be okay… Yamaguchi really made it?” At first Tsukishima simply sat surprised, thinking that after all this time the doctor would come back to tell him that Yamaguchi had died. For him to return with such happy news concerning his friend, that was what really took him by surprise. Tsukishima had tried to stay strong, thinking the best for his friend, but deep down he had also been preparing himself for the dreaded fate that most of his team had already encountered this horrendous night. Wiping his tears away with his hand, Tsukishima triumphantly looked over at his family, who had been quiet and observant and now noticed the silent stream of tears on Kei’s face. Even Kageyama, who was listening to Dr. Hibiki rather than his parents, felt joy rise inside him as well as he smiled slightly and saw just how much Tsukishima really did care for the boy.

Akiteru stood stunned, it had been a long time since he last seen Kei cry, but even when he cried as a kid, it was nothing like this, this was something entirely new. This wasn’t sad at all, it was pure bliss and acceptance. “I.. I’m gonna see him again… He’s alive” Tsukishima couldn’t stop it now, it was as if the dam that had been built over many years of solitude, had finally overfilled as the water leaked over the top. His tears wet the back of his hands, and his mother reached out to hug him instinctively. Tsukishima let her, too overwhelmed to fight the embrace, shaking against her.

“Oh Kei, I’m so happy. I was so worried about you when we called after the match and you never answered the phone. I just… I knew something had to be wrong when by the fourth call you still didn’t answer. Your father even called Tadashi’s father to see if he had heard anything but he hadn’t heard any news either” She explained, making Tsukishima’s father lean forward more on his mother’s chair.

“Yeah, as soon as Hideaki said he hadn’t heard anything either, I even tried calling your coach. But when he didn’t answer I was about to call the cops...that was until they called me and told us the news.” He reacted as Hanako Tsukishima, Kei’s mother, grabbed a tissue from the table behind her and handed it to her son who gladly took it.

“Everything will be alright now. Nothing else will happen tonight. You really should try to get some sleep, honey” Hanako murmured sweetly as she looked up towards her husband, Toru, and then over at Akiteru. Everything in the room fell silent for a moment and for the first time that night Tsukishima felt at ease and felt as if he might possibly be able to sleep.   

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Hibiki spoke to and informed Tsukishima about the favorable news concerning Yamaguchi, the nurses accompanying Ennoshita had moved ahead down the hall, knowing that the doctor would catch up with them soon. As the wheels of the bed squeaked and slid along the linoleum floor, a door slowly opened down the other direction of the same hallway. This room, numbered 214, was a few doors down from Room 208, the one in which Ennoshita was previously resting. A woman exited the room, her left arm crossed over her stomach and holding the elbow of the other as she covered her mouth with her right hand. The skin around the base of her nose was tinted a pale shade of red and her eyes here equally tinted red, a presumable mixture of weeping and fatigue. She walked quickly to the middle of the hallway and spun around, facing the door as a man exited behind her and gently closed the door so that nothing more than a faint click could be heard.

The two were rather well dressed compared to the other visitors that were once collected in the Lobby one floor below, who mostly were dressed in hastily-assembled and messy garb. The pair wore attire fitting for a business meeting, indicating that both had midnight shift office jobs that they obviously had to call off for the emergency. The man approached the woman and softly placed his hands on her shoulders, to which she immediately replied by leaning forward, placing her head on his chest just above his heart. He moved his hands around her back and held her close, allowing her to quietly cry on his grey suit as his hands overlapped behind her, his wedding ring brushing up against the back of his right hand. Her arms remained scrunched together between her body and her husband's and the two simply stood there for about half a minute before speaking to each other.

With her eyes shut and still resting upon her husband's shoulder, the woman spoke, "Manabu... What's wr-"

"It's okay, Ryoko," Manabu interrupted, moving his head up and placing his chin on top of her head. He had developed a rather pronounced five o'clock shadow over the past few days, which was the only hair on his head beside his eyebrows. His wife could not feel the rough bristles of his stubble through her thick shoulder-length brown hair and simply welcomed and appreciated the security his calm persona provided. "He's okay, that's what matters," he continued, attempting to settle Ryoko's nerves further, "Just give the boy time, he's been through a lot."

The two were speaking of their son, Asahi Azumane, who sat in his personal recovery room behind them. They had arrived soon after receiving the call about the accident and were some of the first to arrive considering the office they both worked at was in the general vicinity. After a young female doctor by the name of Kotegawa informed them of the situation and allowed them to see their son, they calmly followed her up the stairs with daughter Saki, who drove herself to the hospital just like Saeko. However, when they entered the room, Asahi acted nothing like what they presumed he would. Ryoko spoke up again, finishing the sentence she attempted to say before, "But... What's wrong with him? ...Why is he just... Sitting there?" She sniffed a few times and took a few breaths before continuing, "It's... It's like he doesn't even see me..."

Ever since the first moment the Azumane family entered the recovery room, Asahi was wide awake, sitting up and staring at the blank white wall in front of his bed. The three were beyond elated to see him but, after Ryoko and Saki hugged him at least a dozen times, they realized that he remained completely unresponsive, no emotion or reaction could be seen other than the occasional blink as he continued to face forward, almost as if at attention. Dr. Kotegawa stayed at the doorway for a moment and explained the situation once the Azumane family realized the situation. She explained that, medically, Asahi is in rather good shape, comparatively, and the surgery he had went smooth and had no issues. After he woke up from the anesthesia however and the nurses were checking his vitals before moving him to the large common room, Room 208, Asahi specifically requested a room by himself, saying nothing more after that. The staff complied, but since that moment, he has yet to speak a word to anyone. Kotegawa finished by noting that although this is not her area of expertise, it may be imperative to bring him to enroll the boy in therapy.

Saki remained in the room with her brother as the parents spoke outside, sitting in a chair at his bedside, patiently pleading in vain for Asahi to simply turn to look at her. In the hall, Manabu spoke to his wife again, trying his best to reassure her about her son's mental health, "Shhhhh, shhh, shh. It's okay, dear. He's okay; he just needs some time." Manabu spoke so calmly and so confidently that Ryoko began to believe him as a faint smile formed on her lips. The man brought his right hand up to the back of Ryoko's head and began to stroke her silky yet tousled hair. "He'll come back to us, don't worry," he continued, swallowing down his own emotions to stay strong for his wife, "I promise."

In reality, Manabu was unsure what was going to happen to his son exactly, having no way to compare any experience he's had to what Asahi just went through a few hours prior. Up until now, his hands and his knees were shaking out of pure fear that Asahi would say this emotionally deceased and that the therapy that Dr. Kotegawa suggested would do nothing, or even worse, further this state in which he is already entrenched. The simple act of holding and consoling his wife helped to alleviate his nerves, and he felt happy that he was at least able to imagine a positive conclusion from this scenario, even if this dream is nothing more than a fleeting vision.

The two stood together for a moment more, calming each other's nerves by being in one another's presence when Ryoko opened her eyes and looked down the hall in the direction her head was facing. Her muscles tensed up for a moment, realizing that at the end of the hall, not even a dozen meters away, was a man leaning up against the corner next to a silver utility cart. He was facing their direction and seemed to be staring at the two of them as they spoke, Ryoko realizing that she had no idea how long he was there watching them. The mysterious person was wearing a torn pair of jeans and an open black jacket showing a tan shirt underneath, all of which were completely soaked and still dripping on the floor where a small puddle of water began to form. His head was mostly hung downward but Ryoko could tell, even from this distance, that it was still upright enough to allow the man to look directly back at them. Still startled by his presence and feeling incredibly uneasy, Ryoko spoke in a whisper to her husband while still looking at the man like a terrified prey watching a predator, "Manabu... There's a man over there... Watching us!"

Manabu quickly jerked his head and looked in the direction his wife indicated, quickly locating the man who remained motionless in the corner since there was no one else in the hallway. He had short black hair which, just like the rest of his body, was soaking wet and completely unkempt. Finally, once Manabu started looking in his direction, the man showed a sign of life by suddenly pushing himself off the wall with his right arm, the one he was leaning against. Although this motion was rather sudden, he stumbled forward slightly as if this action threw off his internal rhythm and his feet couldn't keep up with what the rest of his body wanted to do. Feeling threatened by this bedraggled person, Manabu barked a warning while cautiously nudging his wife to get behind him, "Hey! Back of, buddy. Stay back." Manabu's mood changed immediately from comforting and consoling to defensive and commanding as he gave orders to the surmised miscreant before him. Ryoko moved back behind Manabu, afraid that her husband, who had a history of being slightly overprotective, may do something he could regret, particularly considering his emotion state concerning Asahi.

The man completely ignored Manabu's orders, or didn't hear them at all, and continued to stagger forward, one foot after the other in a completely inconsistent rate like he was a marionette being controlled by an amateur puppeteer. Ryoko noticed that the door behind the man was the door to the stairwell that the Azumane family used earlier. Thinking back, she considered that since the stairwell was very near the front of the building, it is likely that the man entered through the front entrance and hobbled past the reception desk, the chaos of the other families filling the area making it easier for him to slip through. As she thought this, she looked closer at the man approaching them and saw that the man was clutching something this in his left hand. "Wait..." Ryoko said quietly as she looked closer at the object, recognizing them as a pair of glasses.

"Now is not the time to fuck with me, pal," Manabu snapped once again menacingly as he bent his knees and took a physically defensive position. "I'm serious. Back. Off."

Still lumbering forward, the soaked man tilted his head back at an unusual angle but continued to stare at Mr. and Mrs. Azumane, his back strangely stiff while the rest of his body seemed more fluid and reactive to his motions. Finally, he broke his eerie silence and, with a voice as rough as rocks, he indistinctly muttered, "What the fuck do you know about time, Azumane."

"...What?" Manabu confusingly muttered, thrown off upon hearing this disheveled wanderer specifically use his name, even though it was butchered by the man's slurred speech.

With his head tilted back now, it was easier for Ryoko to identify the man, even though the glasses he normally wears were being tightly held in his fist. "Manabu!" Ryoko said louder, getting her husband's attention, "It's Shohei! Don't hurt him, it's Shohei!" Manabu's muscles eased as he examined the man's face quickly coming to the same conclusion once his wife identified him.

In his current state, Shohei Sawamura was almost completely unrecognizable, even compared to earlier when they saw him in the lobby. The man was completely and universally ripped apart from being informed of his son's death but when the Azumane family was approached by Dr. Kotegawa, their attention became completely focused on their own son; they did not even notice when he got up and left the building, walking outside into the rain that had recently begun once again. He had retreated out to his own car, curling up in the backseat with a large bottle of whiskey, draining its contents haphazardly and quickly becoming drunk, although to his dismay that did nothing to dull the pain. He stumbled out of his car and tried to walk toward the hospital, tripping on the curb and falling forward, the upper half of his head colliding with the sidewalk. With his glasses shattered and a large cut now formed on his forehead, Shohei rolled over and lay on the ground, head still on the sidewalk and the rest in the grass as he stared at the clouds above raining on him. He lay there for a few minutes, water drenching every inch of his body before he rose once more, entered the hospital and hobbled toward the stairwell that he watched the Azumane family enter previously.

His wet bangs and his dirt-covered face had masked the cut on his forehead but as Shohei continued to approach the Azumanes, Manabu could see that he was bleeding, a trickle of blood flowing down his cheek and his neck. Now with a completely different tone and style of inflection, Manabu spoke to Shohei, a man who used to be a close friend of the Azumane family before his wife passed away and he became distant. "Shohei! What happened to you?" Manabu said as Sawamura's father continued to approach, just a couple meters away now, "You need help! Ryoko, go find a doctor or somebo-"

As Manabu turned to speak to his wife, Shohei's zombie-like demeanor changed instantly and with a sudden burst of energy, he took a couple long strides toward Manabu and punched him directly in the face just below his eye using the hand clutching the glasses. This impact easily knocked Manabu off of his feet and he fell to the ground in front of Ryoko, who let out a quick high-pitched scream. Shohei likewise stumbled forward, thrown off balance, or whatever balance he had left, from his own punch but managed to remain standing over the bald man. The crazed person began to yell down at Manabu, who recoiled on the ground from the surprising force of the punch, "Time, time, TIME! What the FUCK do you know about time?!" Shohei rambled, his fist now bleeding on the outside from the punch as well as on the inside from the shards of glass that dislodged from his glasses and into his skin. "You know who doesn't have any time left? My goddamn son, because he's fucking dead! My boy..." He trailed off, tears starting to form in his wide open eyes as he stared down at his victim.

From the sound of Ryoko's loud scream and Shohei's proceeding yelling, a door down the hall opened as a young nurse peeked her head out from a room to see what was the commotion. He closed the door immediately and used the phone in that room to call for the hospital security while another person exited a different room into the hallway. Dr. Hibiki rushed out of Room 208, mortified and temporarily speechless by the scene down the hall. As the doctor hesitated, Shohei concluded his rant at Manabu, volume increasing once more to a shout, "And you have the _nerve_ to complain while yours is sitting comfortably right fucking there?! I should cave your goddamn head in, you piece of SHIT!!"

With the last word, a call ran over the loudspeakers for security to quickly attend the situation unfolding on the second floor. Hibiki quickly recovered from the shock and started running down the hall towards the altercation, intending to defuse the situation before security arrived and everything spun dangerously out of control. "Mr. Sawamura!" Hibiki yelled, recognizing the man due to personally informing him about his son's death, "Mr. Sawamura, back away from Mr. Azumane!" As he shouted at Shohei, the bedraggled man looked up and saw Hibiki running toward him and, instead of backing away like instructed or ignoring the command, Shohei rushed forward, darting directly toward Hibiki himself. This was entirely unexpected by the doctor, who slowed to a stop and tried to retreat from the charging red-eyed bull out for blood. Before Hibiki could move far, Shohei quickly caught up to him, grabbing the old man's neck with his open hand and diving toward the ground, bringing the doctor to the linoleum floor in a chokehold.

"YOU!" Shohei screamed at Hibiki who was pinned to the floor by Shohei's unbelievable adrenaline and alcohol-fueled strength, "Explain WHY! Why did you let him die? WHY DID YOU KILL MY SON?!" His bleeding left hand started to shake out of pure rage at the doctor that was completely at Shohei's mercy. Shohei gritted his teeth and started to raise his left hand slowly in the air, still gripping the broken spectacles as he spoke softer, "Why... Why _MY_ son..." Parents from room 208 started to poke their heads out, witnessing the warpath Shohei had created down the hall and were afraid to interfere or else become his next victim. Shohei finally released the energy he built up in his raised hand, bringing down a tight fist and striking the doctor directly in the jaw as he scream, "YOU KILLED HIM!!" This blow caused Hibiki's cheek, now lines with incisions in the shape of his own teeth, to bleed from the inside, filling the side of his mouth with blood.

It was obvious to everyone present except for Shohei himself that he was looking for nothing more than a scapegoat, someone to personally take the blame for Daichi's death and in his drunken stupor, the close targets became the victims of the senseless manhunt. Hibiki realized this fact and tried to explain to the raving man that there is no villain, no heel for Shohei to prey upon for stress and pain relief. "No, no!" the doctor said, holding his hands up slightly as a sign of innocence. It was difficult for him to talk as blood continued to pour into his mouth, but he did his best to calm the man down and prevent further tragedy, "There was nothing we could do! I'm sorry but... Your son was already gone when we got..." Hibiki tried to explain what he knew had happened on the mountainside before receiving yet another punch in the face from an enraged Shohei.

"Shut up!" He screamed at the doctor, adding more pressure on his neck to the point that the doctor could hardly breathe anymore, let alone talk. It was like the second floor was currently engaged in a hostage situation with Shohei's fearsome rage acting as a firearm, forcing all those in the immediate area into submission, unable to escape or act against their captor. After a few seconds of the increased pressure, Hibiki's words seemed to reach a part of Shohei, who lifted his hand of the doctor's neck. The old man rolled to the side, coughing as his lungs rapidly filled with air once again. Shohei stayed on his knees but fell forward, dropping his glasses finally and pulling at his black-grey bangs that hung in front of his forehead with enough force to pull some of it from the roots.

Behind Shohei, down the hall where he started his rampage, the stairwell door that he had used earlier swung open and a pair of security officers ran out, arriving less than a minute after being called. They immediately assessed the situation, seeing Ryoko tending to her husband and Shohei kneeling next to a bleeding staff member. They began charging at Shohei, brandishing tasers and shouting at him to get down on the ground, to which the desperate father cursed loudly in response. Shohei launched from his kneeling position into full sprint instinctively, stumbling momentarily into a cart left against a wall in the hallway before finally reaching his stride. Though he had started quite far away from the officers, they were quickly gaining ground on him as he rounded the corner clumsily and ran down another hallway away from those who had witnessed his deplorable deeds.

As he ran, Shohei shook his head, still not ready to accept that his son's death was merely an accident and there was nothing that could have been done to save him. He wanted to shake Hibiki's few words from his mind, to dash them against the rocks and allow them to scatter away, unable to dig away at the little logic he retained.

Then, as if by a miracle, he saw someone on the other side of a room window. Though it was only for a moment and out the corner of his eye, he recognized the figure immediately and screeched to a halt. Shohei wheeled around and bolted at the door, ramming it as hard as he could with his shoulder like a bull charging at its blood-red target. As the security guards rounded the corner and another set appeared from a different stairwell in this new hallway, the door Shohei hit sprung open easily and he fell forward, catching himself on the bed in that room despite his legs buckling from the charge. The crazed father looked up from his partially collapsed position, his eyes meeting directly with those of the coach of the Karasuno Volleyball Team, Keishin Ukai.

Ukai and Shohei did not know each other well, in fact as far as Shohei could remember they had only personally met once before now, but Daichi’s father knew the young coach well. From his son’s endless and sometimes disjointed ramblings of the team’s accomplishments to secretly viewing the full team at a game once before, Shohei could identify the man’s stark yellow hair anywhere, even if was incredibly messy. Ukai, who was scanning over a magazine left for him by a nurse in an attempt to cool his nerves, jumped at the sudden explosion of energy that entered the room. Having finished surgery well over an hour prior, he had recovered from the anesthesia and could not fall asleep again, thinking over and over about what more he could have done. Overall, most of Ukai’s injuries were rather minor and did not require more than bandages, disinfectant and time to fully heal. Unfortunately for the coach, however, the damage his eye had received was far too severe for anyone to save its vision, even if a more distinguished ophthalmologist had been present at the hospital. Thus, the coach was brandishing a large eye patch, which resembled nothing more than a white bandage and gauze securely fastened to his forehead and cheek.

Though Ukai had heard a commotion happening down the hall, he never expected whatever was occurring to literally fall upon his feet and was understandably shocked when Shohei nearly broke his door down trying to get inside. Furthermore, although Shohei recognized the coach on sight, Ukai had no idea who the dirty psychopath was and sat speechless as the dirty man quickly lifted himself to an upright position. Outside his hospital room, the coach could hear the security officers yell at each other to “get inside” and “take him down,” easily assuming this was meant for his new roommate. Before he could retaliate or even react in any way to the intruder, Ukai found himself beset by Shohei, who wheeled around to the left side of the bed and seemed to be flying right at the reclined coach himself.

Shohei grabbed hold of the short plastic rail on the side of the bed with his right arm and, with a combination of his leg strength and the momentum gained from pulling against the rail with his right, he let his entire left side of his body arc around, landing one large punch square in Ukai’s face. The impact of this hit was harder than any he had thrown up to this point and the coach could feel his nose crack the instant he was struck which felt like someone had swung a wooden bat at his face. Ukai recoiled in his bed, bringing both of his arms up to cover his now profusely bleeding nose as he rolled away from the source of the impact, though this ultimately proved futile. Shohei grabbed the coach’s left shoulder with his right hand, turning him back around toward the aggressor as he started to rain further strikes upon Ukai’s blood-red face.

With every punch, Shohei yelled out a single word of a sentence, literally beating his point and reason for assaulting the coach into his body, “YOU. KILLED. MY. SON!!!” All Ukai could feel was the pressure of Shohei’s fist continually colliding with the features of his face, a pressure that got weaker with every successive hit. Each hit also become more wet than the last,as Ukai’s blood began to stick to Shohei’s fist, eventually staining each knuckle red. The assault came to a very quick end, however, as Shohei was only able to land two more quick hits before being forcefully yanked back by two pairs of hands that had grabbed his shoulders, pulling him down to the ground. Ukai had no way to defend himself during the assault and had curled up somewhat into a fetal position, closing his eyes and trying to shield his face, unsuccessfully, with his hands and arms.

Scared out of his mind and still expecting to be struck more, Ukai stayed in this position and kept his eyes closed while the room filled with noise. The security officers had reached the scene and, instead of risking shooting tasers into a room containing a patient and electrical equipment, physically brought Shohei to the ground, restricting the man from continuing his assault. Despite the yelling from various sources, Ukai could pick out the ramblings of the gravelly-voiced man over the officers trying to restrain him, “His blood is on your hands, you piece of shit! You let him die! Daichi is dead because of you!! They’re _all_ dead because of you!!” Ukai could make out every word of the rant, each acting as a nail securing his coffin of guilt concerning the events that conspired of the mountain leading to the death of multiple denizens of Karasuno. Restrained securely with cuffs, the officers quickly dragged Shohei from the room despite his physical and verbal protests. He fought them the entire way but continued to yell specifically at Ukai, burying him further in the mound of sin he had already erected for himself, “You killed them! They should have _you_ in chains, not me! You’re the murderer!! You killed them!! YOU KILLED THEM!!!”

As all five officers that had gathered dragged Shohei down the hall, he continued to repeat his last line over and over again loud enough for everyone on the floor to hear him, even through closed doors. Two medical staff ran into Ukai’s room upon Shohei’s removal and tended to the bleeding man, cleaning and attempting to treat the new wounds that covered his face in black and red markings.

 _Kiyoko…_ Ukai thought, mind filling only with thoughts of those he had failed, _...Takeda… Narita… Daichi… Kinoshita…_ Every face in the list appeared before him in the blackness formed by his still-closed eyes, all looking down on him disapprovingly. They began to spin and circle around him like a hurricane of regret and a remainder of every failure he committed on the mountain. Every student he tended to ended up dying and it felt like everyone he was close to fell victim to mistakes he had made. “I’m sorry…” he said so softly that the nurses in his room could not discern that he had spoke, “... I killed them…”

Ukai felt nothing but disappointment and hatred for himself. With Shohei’s appearance, any shred of hope that lied within his self-hatred was now shattered, along with his will and sense of being. _I need to take responsibility..._ , he thought, taking every word that Shohei said to him, most of which he considered prior to the onslaught, as truth. With his soul in tatters, there was only one solution Ukai considered to be accurate, only one solution deserving of his crimes.

_Home… In the nightstand… One shot is all I need._


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK SOOOOOOO I was going to upload all of chapter 10 as one chapter but then once I finished the chapter I found out that it was over 120 pages long!!!!!!!!!!!!! So instead what I’m going to do is split up chapter 10 into 3 chapters, ch. 10, 11, and 12 (12 being the Epilogue and bonus stuff). All of the chapters will be uploaded tonight so do not worry. Sorry for taking so long but holy crap this is a looooooooong freaking chapter haha!! Still highly recommend listening to sad epic battle music playlists on Youtube. Have a great read and please comment!!!! Thanks again to Rob for all his help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also thanks to my friend Sonja for helping my out!!!!!!

** Chapter 10 **

****

It was dark. Black as pitch. Absolutely devoid of light as if the world itself was ensnared in a black murky coat of sludge. Swallowed by the surrounding blackness and with nothing to establish any semblance of spacial awareness, Ukai felt completely disoriented in this empty space. However, if he reached out, he could feel invisible walls surrounding him on all sides, suffocating him inside of an ever-shrinking cage. The coach panicked and tried to push against what he could not see with his good shoulder, but the walls would not seem to budge no matter how much strength Ukai mustered. As Ukai pushed, a man's voice rang through the scape and inside of his mind, introducing yet another seal to lock him inside of this tangible torment. _‘Murderer’ the voice spat clawing at his mind and hissing out that one fated word as if he was on repeat. ‘ Murderer… Murderer! You… You killed them! Their blood is on your hands! ’_ The man's voice screamed seeming to seep out the Ukai’s eardrums and suffocate the air around him.

Although everything around him was cold and dark, Ukai felt as if his bones were infused with scorching-hot cinders burning up in his chest like the cage of a furnace someone left on. His heart rate grew exponentially and as it grew he felt, more than hot or cold or even scared, claustrophobic; as he frantically searched for some sort of light, but no tangible light source could be found, not even a shimmer of hope. The darkness was so deep that to Ukai it felt that the room itself was alive and moving.

The coach tried and tried to find a way out of the darkness that started oozing down the walls and dripping from the ceiling, but the more he searched the more his feet seemed to sink like quicksand into the abyss below. His hands now covered in some form of dark liquid as his legs were continuously swallowed down deeper and deeper. He tried screaming for help but no matter what he did it didn’t matter. No one would hear him, and no one would help, he was completely alone. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, so loud that the man felt like his chest was the head of a drum and his heart was the mallet. Shadows seemed to call out his name over and over, echoing like a chorus of angry parents inside his skull each one individually blaming him for their child's death and lack of safety. _“_ My boy! My precious son! What have you done!? _”_ One lady shouted as another one screamed painfully at the loss of her only child.

Ukai twisted and turned in place putting his hands up to his eardrums to block out the noise and screams, but it wasn’t enough. He could not put his hands all the way up to his ears to dull the sounds because of the unknown grimy substance that covered his hands entirely and pulled them down. Furthermore, even if the grime wasn’t there, he could still hear them since the voices were not only in the room with him now but were constant companions in his head.

Ukai’s forehead pounded as he frantically tried wiping the substance that stained his hands on his shirt all while muttering under his breath, “No… No… This can’t be real. This has to fake…” Ukai struggled, no matter how hard he wiped his hands off, the stain seemed to be permanently etched into his skin like a brand. Ukai’s heart rate rose when a new voice resounded in his skull “Kiyoko…” it wept, “My precious daughter… How could this happen to you… Who did this to you?! Was it that coach of yours?” A woman continued sobbing inside his mind as Ukai shook his head trying to rid the thoughts of the poor girl he watched die.

Ukai tried to find his voice in the midst of everything to tell the woman that it wasn’t him but even when he spoke he wasn’t even sure who he was talking to. “It-It wasn't my fault! I didn't kill them! I tried to help her… I tried to protect them!” Ukai yelled into the emptiness of the small dark room and refused to listen to the lady as she continued; now spitting his name out like it was venomous. It felt like no matter how hard he tried Ukai would never be able to convince her that this wasn’t his fault.  He tried to _save_ their children, not kill them.

The voice of Kiyoko’s mother was finally gone after what felt like forever only to be replaced with another voice that was much younger sounding. _‘What do you mean he's gone?!’_ The voice questioned in a tone of bewilderment, this one much younger sounding than the rest. _'No… No… No!’_ the girl repeated, each word ascending in volume from the previous one until finally she shrieked, _‘NO! He has to come home! No! I-I won't accept that my brother’s gone! Hisashi’s alive and-and he will come home!’_

The coach reached back up with his hands that he haphazardly wiped free of most of the restricting goo and tried to block his ears with his palms once again to the best of his ability, not even caring anymore that parts of the black ooze still remained on them. By now darkness had completely taken over the man's mind as he clenched his eyes shut and yelled out into the emptiness of the room, “STOP!!” Every time he tried to scream or talk he felt as if his voice was cut in half by the demons that plagued his thoughts getting louder and louder until finally all was quiet. All was still except for one word. One word remained etched into the back of his mind and no matter how hard he tried to erase it from his thoughts, he just couldn't. That one word was that main cause of this madness.

 _Murderer_.

Eventually Ukai was a little more than waist deep in a murky dark liquid of the shadowy room, being swallowed whole by four walls closing in on themselves. The man strained his voice and cried out in desperation for anyone to hear but sadly no one came. With each passing scream or cry for help, the walls seemed to cave in faster.

Ultimately the room swallowed him whole and the dark water drowned him, muffling his cries of sorrow and regret. The coach felt alone, more alone and scared than he had ever felt in his life. Not only did it feel as if nobody knew he was gone, but even more terrifying yet, that nobody cared. _Would anyone really care?_ Ukai thought as he felt strangled and tried to swim to the top of this godforsaken space but he was running out of breath quickly. _Maybe I should just give in?_ The coach thought again as he gave into the darkness and let it take over his body. _If I give in then the voices will leave me alone at least…_ Ukai suggested to himself and just when he thought everything was over, he felt himself fall, fall down far below the surface of the Earth, as if he was falling down into the pit of a volcano. It was hot down here, his face starting to sweat from the excessive amounts of warmth and deep down the coach felt as though this might be the end of him. Even though he gave up trying to save himself he still heard the pounding screams of Daichi’s father emanating inside his skull.

_MURDERER! You! It’s-It’s all your fault! You let my son die! DAICHI’S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! You-You… MURDERER!_

_Murderer huh…?_ Ukai thought as Shohei’s voice was the last to remain inside his head, all others gone and did their time. _Yeah I guess you could call me that…_ Ukai’s voice wavered as he watched the screaming man being dragged away with limited sight on his own bed inside his mind, eyes still closed; scared to open them to see where he was at. _I was the one who was supposed to look after these children; I was the one who was supposed to protect them… I was the one that should have died…_ So many lives that were no more, so many lives that will forever be changed because of the outcomes of the crash. Ukai repeated over and over again in his head so much so that he started to believe every word of it even though the accident wasn’t caused by him and he wasn’t the one driving. The dread loomed over him still like a constant raincloud as he continued to keep his eyes closed and wondered how long this nightmare would continue.

Suddenly the air around him seemed to drastically change from one of regret and remorse to one of soothing and tranquillity. Ukai was afraid to even open his eyes before but now with the newfound serenity that seemed to engulf him he decided maybe he should give it a try. When he first opened his eye everything was bright yet fuzzy and thus he quickly closed them again. Before he opened them back up for the second time he heard a sound that he had not thought he would ever hear again. Someone was laughing _? Who could possibly be laughing?_ Ukai questioned as he gradually opened his eyes all the way and stared at the sight in front of him.

Upon opening his eye, he witnessed something that was honestly the last thing Ukai expected to see. After the white haze disappeared, he relaxed a bit and his shoulders fell back, this was something he could get used to. This sight was familiar to him; he was back at the Karasuno gym. Everyone was present and seeming to enjoy themselves as some practiced while others were on break. Ukai himself was sitting on a bench looking out over the gymnasium, enjoying the one bit of peace he had in what felt like a long time.

Kinoshita and Narita were standing next to the bench Ukai was on laughing about something concerning their jerseys. The two boys looked healthy and clean as Kinoshita took a swig of water and set his bottle back down on the bench to go walk over towards a ball pile. Ukai couldn’t believe his eyes for a second as he glanced upon the two boys whose previous deaths he has encountered. _They’re alive?_ Ukai questioned as his eyes glanced over and then noticed Daichi and Kiyoko talking to Takeda about strategies over by the whiteboard next to the window. The three of them seemed lost in conversation about some meeting or practice game that they were going to have as the teacher held his hand up for a second to check something in his volleyball rulebook.

Noya and Tanaka were over by the net chatting with Asahi loudly as the short libero pointed at Asahi and yelled something causing the timid third year to answer back in a shocked response. While Nishinoya laughed at the dumbfounded third year, Suga took this opportunity to walk over towards Daichi and lean over his shoulder joining in on the three’s conversation from earlier. Daichi gladly let him lean over him as he turned his head to describe what they were discussing previously.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were standing over by the doorway, the taller of the two taking a drink of his water bottle while the latter looked over at the center of court towards Hinata and Kageyama. Ukai noticed Yamaguchi whisper something to Tsukishima and then saw him point towards the center of the court where Hinata was yelling something at Kageyama before running up for some spiking practice. Tsukishima slyly grinned before taking his glasses off and wiping a towel across his face. After a second he put the glasses back on turned towards Yamaguchi and said something in return.

As Ukai sat on the bench taking all this in he felt a tear roll down from his eye and used his forearm to wipe it away. Kageyama’s irritated face and remark made the coach want to chuckle as he remembered these boys and wished desperately for everything that happened that night on the mountain to just be a horrible nightmare. Ukai continued watching as their genius setter set the ball and Hinata sprung to life, Nishinoya stopping his talking and bracing himself for an attack while Asahi and Tanaka turned around to try and block the little first year as well.

Yachi and Ennoshita watched in awe from the sidelines as Hinata spiked to ball and Asahi hit it with the tip of his finger. Noya then running up to the ball and diving for the rebound.

“Amazing! Nishinoya got it!” Ennoshita cheered as Noya rolled back up into position and watched as Tanaka hit the ball over towards Asahi to spike. The ace took a step back and, although Tanaka was no setter and Suga was chatting over elsewhere and Kageyama was on the other side of the net, the boy jumped up and slammed it down over top of Hinata and Kageyama’s heads. Yachi then gleefully cheered as Asahi returned to the ground. Ennoshita turned around after Noya had successfully received the ball and Asahi spiked it back for an imaginary point, and noticed Ukai sitting on the bench. He was the first to actually notice the coach it seemed, even though Ukai felt like he’d been sitting here a few minutes just observing his surroundings. Ennoshita waved over to him as the coach smiled and desperately desired more than anything to never wake up from this dream. This dream he was okay with staying a part of; this dream was his solitude. He knew it wasn’t real. He knew that, but he didn’t care, he still wished to stay, stay forever and never leave.

Without warning, the previous brightly lit gymnasium started fading, colors losing their life as darkness seeped in from the floor. The happiness of the teens around him slowly melted and warped into a much darker visage. Their skin slowly slid off as if it was not adhered to the rest of their body, exposing the blood-filled organs underneath. It was like Ukai was trapped inside the ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch as he watched all the colors of the building fade and melt around him in horror.

 _No!_ Ukai thought as he jumped up from the bench and ran to the closet person who happened to be Nishinoya and grabbed hold of his shoulders. As soon as the coach got to the boy, he slowly collapsed on the ground like somebody dropping a marionette doll on the floor and watching as it hit the ground and ricocheted a few centimeters off the floor before finally turning still and lifeless. Ukai stared in horror as he crouched down and reached a shaky hand out to check on Noya. As soon as he made contact, Noya’s body turned rotten as the dark as the black liquid from earlier oozed out of a wound that appeared from where Ukai touched. The coach gasped and jumped up looking down in horror at the state of Karasuno’s Libero. As he jumped back, Ukai scanned the rest of the room in hope that they were all still fine.

He couldn’t be more wrong.

His eyes locked with Asahi as he witnessed the boy scream in agony, arm falling off in the process, like the arm itself was the wrong piece in the giant puzzle that is the human body. Ukai grew incredibly concerned with everything around him and slowly started backing away. _This is all just a dream Keisin… Just a dream… Get ahold of yourself._ He told himself as Kinoshita fell to the floor next to him on all fours and became instantly bloody again as he started melting in with the dark wood below screaming and reaching his arm up towards Narita who tried to grab them but was held back by some invisible force. Narita tried to push through the wall yelling at Kinoshita but eventually ended up watching his friend sink into the ground like quicksand while a sudden force constricted him. As he was being squeezed, whatever force was holding him in place thrust an invisible sword through his back and stomach, blood splattering on the ground in front of him and covering Kinoshita in warm crimson. The poor boy dropped down as well onto his stomach as the dark fog emitting from the ground swallowed him whole and soon Narita was gone as well. This nightmarish hell continued until every member slowly died in the most painful way Ukai could imagine, with Ennoshita being the last to disappear from sight. The worst thing about all of this though was that fact that no matter who Ukai ran to to try and save they always seemed to die right before his eyes, all of them being a breath away from being saved. It was like his mind was playing some dirty trick on him, making it so no matter what Ukai did he was a failure. The room, now twisted and contorted, eventually became frighteningly dark. The bright gymnasium turned a murky grayish white as the colors faded away and soon everything he knew and loved was gone.

He clenched his eyes shut and cried trying to keep the original image of the team practicing alive in his mind but when he opened his eyes next he was back in the hospital room, only this time something was different. Lying by his feet in the shadowy ensnare of the dark hospital room was none only than Kiyoko Shimizu, but a more grotesque version of the girl covered in a coat of dirt and blood. “Why did you let go of me coach?” The broken and bloody girl asked lying on her stomach and crawling up closer to him on his bed, half of her body completely ripped off as parts of her intestines and her stomach dragged behind. The look alone would be enough to scare even the most fearless of men as Ukai recoiled and tried his hardest to turn his head away from the gruesome sight before him. This was not the best choice as Kiyoko viciously spat at Ukai with one hand clawing into his leg. “DON’T TURN AWAY FROM ME COACH! YOU CAUSED ME TO LOOK LIKE THIS!”

“I didn’t mean to! I-” Ukai choked back a sob as Kiyoko slowly clawed her fingernails deeper into the bed sheet fully digging into Ukai’s flesh as he stiffened and yelled, “I tried to save you!” Ukai lowed his voice a tad as a flashback of Kiyoko slipping from his grasp flashed in his mind. “I tried to save all of you! I never wanted any of this to happen… I didn't plan this...” He sadly commentated glancing at the young girl in front of him with tears slowly dropping from his one good eye, the other still covered up in a bandage that wrapped around his head.

“You didn’t even mention that I died. You didn't tell any of them! Am I that unimportant to you coach?!” The girl spat as she finally made it close enough to Ukai that the poor man could see the dead pupils of their once beloved manager lingering right in front of him.

“I didn’t-” He huffed, scared of what the girl was going to do to him as he subconsciously flinched away from her yet again. “We already had so much on our minds at the time… I-” He tried voicing out again, this time looking her directly in the eyes trying to think of something to say to the girl. As soon as he finished his sentence, he heard a blood curdling scream and just like that, Kiyoko twitched and an explosion erupted from her stomach, her body flared up in a bright blue flame. Kiyoko shrieked one last time before the fire, which was oddly not hot nor cold just neutral, vaporized her body and the weight of the girl on his bed diminished and puffed up into the area above Ukai's bed. Before long she was gone but her scream still echoed through the small room. Ukai was so petrified to even move or think that he didn't even realize that a new noise entered, this one coming from a chair in the corner. Maybe the noise was there all along but Ukai was just so focused on the demonic version Kiyoko that he didn't notice.

The room may have been dim but there was no mistaking who was on the chair in the corner. When he turned his head to face the new company in his small hospital room, his eye widened in fear. “No… Why… Why am I getting tormented like this!?” Ukai yelled as he scooted back in his bed a little bit.

There right in front of him, on the chair next to his bed sat his old friend Takeda, holes in his chest from where the branches pierced him and lower jaw barely hanging on. Of course the teacher would not be able to talk with the condition he was in but his noises alone were enough to terrify anyone, young or old, as if he was from some horror movie. Only this was no horror movie, this was real life, dream or reality, it was still happening and Ukai couldn’t wake up from this one. Takeda tried to speak and say the simplest things but every time he did all that came out were muffled noises clashing against one another while blood and saliva leaked out of his mouth.

At first glance, he looked sad and Ukai wondered what Takeda really wanted until suddenly, the teacher stood up and within a second appeared in front of Ukai as the man screamed and shouted for Takeda to “Go away” but Takeda's hands reached out and gripped him hard around the throat. Ukai flailed about screaming and yelling for the teacher to leave him be. The hands clasping around his throat grew tighter and tighter as Ukai tried to scream, voice getting constricted until eventually cutting off oxygen in his body. His eyes clenched praying deep down for this to all be over until suddenly the teacher vanished. The pressure on his throat was released and Ukai opened his eyes huffing gravely and taking big puffs of air in between coughs. Instead of the gurgled and muffled voice that he was hearing a second ago, it was now replaced with a woman calling out to him and shaking him.

Ukai’s eye snapped open and noticed that it wasn't Takeda anymore but instead two nurses, one a little older than he, while the other one looked about 40. The young nurse was frantic as she stood next to his heart monitor which was beeping like crazy. Ukai now slowly coming back to reality glanced at the monitor and then over at the two nurses by his bedside. _So is this the real world?_ Ukai question feeling completely disoriented from his previous nightmare.

The older nurse tapped him on the shoulder lightly before sweetly saying “Woah! Calm down sir, it’s okay, it’s okay! It was just a bad dream. Nothing will get you”. She reassured him, not blaming the man for freaking out nor did she blame him from flailing and almost slapping her. He and the children he came in with have been through hell and back and she was just there to help make sure everyone remained safe.

“Are you okay?” The younger nurse asked as Ukai just stared at her in disbelief and confusion.

“Yeah… I guess so?” Ukai replied as she heard the heart monitor settle back into its normal rhythmic breathing next to her ear. The nurses stayed in the room for a few more minutes until finally they left to go check on other patients. Everything was quiet when they left and for once Ukai thought that maybe just maybe he could get some sleep.

That was until he heard a voice.

“They're finally gone I see. Good to know that help is always right around the corner huh coach?” Kinoshita said with a coy smile that didn't seem to fit his face at all. “And you thought you were gonna get sleep tonight? Oh no no no that won’t do” Kinoshita snickered as he pushed himself off the wall his back was leaning against and slowly staggered towards the bed.

Ukai stared in confusion, totally petrified by the voice he heard, “No… No how?! Why are you here? How are you alive?” Ukai questioned still flabbergasted beyond reason that Kinoshita was there with him.

“Well I’ll tell you one thing coach, it wasn’t because of you. You watched me die and didn’t do a single damn thing. I help you all night long and when I needed you most you failed me. I never wanted to die Ukai! But it looks like luck wasn’t on my side tonight now was it?” The second year spat, angered beyond belief as he walked closer and closer towards the bed.

Ukai was still confused as to if he was dreaming or not. _The nurses were here… they were real yet how? How am I seeing Kinoshita?_ Ukai thought watching as the second year now stood next to his bed, face full of all sorts of anger as he clenched his fist. “But I'm awake! HOW ARE YOU HERE?!” Ukai yelled noticing the clenched fist. “I was there… I saw you die…”

“I'll tell ya a little secret coach” Kinoshita began in a menacing way as if the boy himself just caught a frightened animal in a trap. Kinoshita now stood next to the bed and leaned down to whisper in Ukai’s ear. “You'll never get rid of us. Sleep won't protect you. If you think being awake will help you either… Well you're dead wrong. I was never supposed to die tonight! None of us were. You say you tried to help us all but when I needed you most you were gone! When I needed you most you turned your back on me and walk away!” Ukai froze upon hearing that last part, _No that’s not true… I was trying to rally the others together…_

“YOU ABANDONED ME AND LEFT ME TO DIE UKAI!” Kinoshita shouted taking his fist and aiming right for Ukai, the elder man flinching away and closing his eyes awaiting the punch but the impact never came. Ukai slowly opened his eyes once more and glanced around the room, noticing that the boy was gone.

“He’s gone…?” Ukai whispered upon noticing that he was once again alone in the small hospital room. He felt his heart beat faster and noticed the thick sweat accumulating on his body as he sat up in bed and tried to catch his breathe. He looked around himself, the bed, and the room itself and saw no one. Kinoshita, Kiyoko, and even Takeda were all gone. He was finally alone.

Ukai wished desperately that he could scream and cry out for help and that someone would be there to answer his plea. However, as he sat alone in the bed and the shadows of the room continued to move and sway like they were alive and would concoct yet another phantom to haunt him, he could not help but question his own sanity. He turned and curled himself into a tight ball, fearing closing his eyes and have yet another lucid dream or nightmare but also worried of what might appear if he were to keep them open. He slowly became hysterical, questioning whether anything around him was real or just another figment of his mania. By the time an actual night nurse at the hospital checked up on him, he was still curled up in his ball muttering to himself with his eyes wide open, red and dried out from trying to keep them open as long as possible. Although he was afraid of this reality, the was even more terrified of what his mind would create for him in the empty space in between.

 

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The next day arrived and the news of the bus crash hit TV and news stations everywhere around Japan titling this “The worst crash in ages”. It was such big news for the small town that it made front page on the newspaper and even had a few internet stories written about it. When it hit the news, everyone was shocked, not a single person expecting something like this to ever happen, especially not to those so young and still in school. The broadcast moved fast; near and far including parents, family members, friends, and even acquaintances of the neighboring towns, and soon the town began gossiping all around. Some folks blaming both drivers, but most blamed the weather, until the amount of alcohol found in the semi was revealed to the public. It was confirmed later on that  the semi driver was indeed intoxicated greatly and swerved into the upcoming lane.

The most shocking moment took place in Nekoma High School later that day when Kenma heard the news. For Kenma, the school day was like any other, boring, tiring, and seeming to drag on forever until finally ending, signaling time for after school practice. Kenma felt a shiver run down his spine for what felt like the twelfth time that day. He knew something was wrong, he didn’t know why but he just felt it in his bones, as he checked his phone for the umpteenth time. _Why hasn’t Shoyo texted yet? He texts me all the time..._ Kenma wondered as he put his phone back in his pocket and headed towards the locker room to change for practice. Call it a sixth sense, call it intuition, call it whatever you wanted, but the second year boy had a feeling something bad happened to Shoyo. It was weird for his small energetic friend to not contact him at all, especially now after the incredibly important match with Aoba Josai.

Yesterday morning Shoyo texted the second year setter saying that he was on his way to his first match and a little while later he texted saying, “We won!” Kenma smiled as he glanced down at his phone and texted back a quick reply, “Good luck on the next one” and set his phone aside and continued on with what he was doing. Not long after he set his phone down, maybe about an hour or less, he heard his phone buzz again.

“We won again! But Daichi got hurt real bad! His tooth even fell out! I hope he gets better soon” Hinata responded and Kenma could just picture his friend freaking out and told Hinata that everything would be fine, he’s probably getting medicine now. The last message he received from Shoyo that night was a simple one and consisted of only one sentence, “We won all of our games so far and we’re now getting ready to face Aoba Josei! If we win this one we’ll be moving ahead!”

That was the last message he’d gotten from the hyperactive first year, and he still hasn’t heard any word if Shoyo’s team even won the game or not? He was certain that the first year would have texted it back the minute it was over to tell him the score, yet here he was, in the clubroom for school about to change into his volleyball clothes and go to practice still with no word. He tried being practical and thinking that maybe after a hard day of volleyball games, Hinata was just tired and fell asleep forgetting to text him, but something still seemed off. Kuroo had noticed this morning that Kenma looked rather perturbed today, more irritated than usual and approached him in the hallway going to lunch to ask what’s wrong. There had to be a reason why their setter looked more bummed and vexed than usual. Eventually Kenma told Kuroo about Shoyo and how he was nervous that he hadn’t texted back. Kuroo, worrying for his friends at Karasuno, and finding it adorable and funny how much Kenma cared, decided to whip out his phone and contact not only Daichi but Tsukishima as well to ask how the game went. Kuroo wanted to prove to Kenma that nothing was wrong and that they would text back shortly.

That was few hours ago and still nothing.

Kuroo waited in the doorway of the locker room, he himself already dressed and ready to go but stayed behind to wait on Kenma.

“Any news?” Kuroo said leaning his body against the doorframe of their club room.

Kenma glanced up at Kuroo with a look in his eyes that was unreadable. “No… I just don’t get it. Why do I feel so weird about this?” Kenma asked as he saw the tall third year look at his phone blankly before sighing in defeat and turning towards his setter.

“It’s weird…” Kuroo said checking his phone and setting it back in his pocket for the third time since walking into the clubroom. By now he started to worry as well, but was still not entirely convinced that something as bad as Kenma was imagining actually occurred.

Kenma looked perplexed as he set his phone down on a bench and moved over to a locker to grab his clothes. “Did any of them contact you?” Kenma questioned as he slowly lifted his shirt off his head and folded it neatly on the bench by his phone.

Feeling as though Kuroo failed the second year, he mumbled “No…I don’t understand…I know that Daichi and Tsukishima aren’t the best of friends with me but you’d think one of them would answer my texts…”

Kenma reached into the locker grabbing his practice shirt and threw it over his head and then glanced blankly into the locker, deep in thought. “Yeah… I still feel like something’s wrong. Have you checked the news at all? Maybe something has happened?” Kenma theorized thinking that that would be the only other explanation.

Kuroo glanced at Kenma with a worried stare as he responded a simple “No? Why do you think it’s that bad, just give him some time.”

Kemna finished putting on his shorts and then moved to sit down on the bench all his stuff rested on previously and began to search the internet for stories. Kuroo, noticing this, took a seat next to him and began flipping through his phone's internet searching for any kind of news, starting with various social media sites. After a few seconds of not talking to each other, Kenma gasped and nudged Kuroo’s shoulder.

“Hey look at this”, Kenma pointed for Kuroo read the title of the article he had found out loud.

‘Shiratorizawa  proclaimed winners of today’s match by default” Kuroo’s eyes got big as he read the title, “Shit man… What is going on!? Here click on it, it should tell us more.” The third year replied hesitantly reaching over to click on the link below the article. Both boys read through it but the article itself wasn’t what stopped both teens in their tracks. On the side of the page was a related article causing both boys’ hearts to stop temporarily. Kuroo leaned in closer to Kenma as together they gasped so loudly that you could have heard it outside the locker room. On the related list was another new article, one titled, ‘ _Deadly bus crash kills 7, leaves 10 injured on mountains_ ’. Kuroo and Kenma shared worried glances before fully clicking on the article. Kuroo read it out loud in a monotone voice, reading the subheading first then the rest, “Worst crash seen in ages… Shit… You- Do you think...” Kuroo asked already dreading the answer but barely even finished his sentence before Kenma spoke up next to him,

“It’s them. Look… It says Karasuno right here.” The second year pointed to the specific line on his phone with wide eyes. The tall third year paused before finding the words he so desperately wished to voice out,

“Who-” he gulped again trying to swallow the lump in his throat, “Does it say who died? Does it Kenma?!” Kuroo finally finished, voice rising in the small locker room as Kenma took his finger and scrolled down the website, hand shaking.

Kenma started to talk but stopped as he brought his phone closer to his face and scrolled to something halfway down. The second year acted as if he never even heard the question that Kuroo asked and the third year grew increasingly worried as Kenma’s jaw began to shake. The captain leaned over more and noticed that Kenma was looking at a picture of the crash and it was now Kuroo’s turn to gasp as he gazed upon the wreckage. “What the hell even happened…  does it say who lived or… You know...” The captain frantically repeated after seeing the twisted metal of the wreckage on the small screen.

Violent tremors ran through Kenma’s hand and the boy dropped the phone on the ground in front of him. The normally technologically obsessed boy did not even seem to care about the possibly broken phone and just covered his eyes with his palms and cried out loudly. Through the sobs, Kuroo could make out one word: “Yes…”

 

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Aki and Kisa Shimizu arrived at their airport destination much earlier than expected as Kisa reached into her bag to grab her phone. Their trip in China was a long one, two weeks of restless exploring and running around. Normally both parents travelled a lot to begin with but this occasion was special, for it was a trip for their anniversary. Kisa and Aki got notified by the airport that their flight that was supposed to leave tomorrow was pushed up to today so the two grabbed their bags and souvenirs that they collected and made their way out of the hotel room. Kisa grabbed the Chinese doll that she got as a souvenir for her only daughter Kiyoko and held it close, protecting it from any damage before carefully placing it into her purse. Kiyoko’s mother always liked to get pretty antique dolls from everywhere she travelled and Kiyoko would place them on a shelf in her bedroom. The dolls weren't big, only a little bigger a hand, so transporting them was usually pretty easy. Kiyoko’s favorite one was the Russian doll that her parents got her last year.

Upon arriving at the airport Kisa grabbed her phone out of her purse and Kiyoko’s father, Aki, glanced over at his wife, who looked rather perplexed. “What’s wrong Kisa?” Aki asked as he saw the disturbance on his wife's face and gestured her to sit down as they both took two seats near their gate back home. Ever since coming to China, their service has been bad, and with the ban on certain social media sites, the two of them seemed to be thrown into a world of useless technology. Though they kind of expected this to happen, they still worried that some sort of emergency could happen. Kiyoko was a strong independent girl and they knew that she knew how to take care of herself so normally they never had any problems. When the two of them traveled, they didn’t keep close tabs on their daughter and would only call every so often to see if she was okay, so it was normal for the girl to be home by herself or to visit her aunt, uncle, or grandparents during this time.

“I have so many voicemails…” She replied, glancing down at her phone in confusion. Kisa was always the worry-wart type so for her mind to wonder to worse possible scenarios, that was common for her. The first few times she left the country, she called her daughter at least twice a day. That was years ago, now, with the help of her optimistic husband Aki, she’s been doing a lot better and became less worried every time she went somewhere new. Still though, she would have a slight nagging feeling every time someone called her and left her a voice mail. Aki, Kiyoko’s father, always had the absolute trust in his daughter and always looked on the bright side of things trying to convince his wife to do the same. “What if something happened to Kiyoko? What if-” She began, causing Aki to scoot over and look down at the only working phone between them since he left his at home, not wanting to pay for the extra service in China, and he knew that he wouldn’t get much service in China to begin with. As he leaned over his wife’s shoulder he saw that she did in fact have a lot of voicemails; 14 to be exact, but it’s just voicemails they shouldn’t be that important.

“Kisa dear, it’s okay,” he reassured, holding her close, “I’m sure it’s just our friends or family trying to call us. I know your mother forgets sometimes when we tell her we’re going on vacation. It could be from her?” Aki started to say as Kisa put one of her arms up to her chin in a thinking position.

“Maybe…? But…” she paused trying to stay positive but her worsening thoughts brought her back to her previous concern: Kiyoko. “It could be Kiyoko, though! What if something happened to her? Or what if she’s in trouble?” Kisa replied taking her one free hand and pushing her black hair out of her way and behind her shoulder.

Aki glanced at his watch and then replied, “I’m sure it’s nothing dear, come on our plane is going to be called soon. Plus she was staying with the volleyball club this week wasn’t she? Or hanging out with that new girl? I’m sure everything’s fine and we’ll see her when we get home.”

This caused Kisa to hesitate momentarily before putting her phone in her pocket, “You’re right… I’ll look at them later” Kisa stammered, slightly trembling. As soon as she put the phone back in her pocket, the overhead speaker in her section came on and called for those who were riding on flight 380 to start heading towards the gate. Since she and her husband were in section one, they were the first ones called. Kisa stood, grabbing her small bag but in the process accidently dropped her purse and all the contents all over the floor, thus hearing a shattering sound on the hard floor of the airport. Kisa quickly bent down and scrabbled to collect her things but as soon as she grabbed the cloth she wrapped Kiyoko's doll in she instantly knew something was wrong. she hesitantly unraveled the doll and noticed that it broke in half at the waist and would need to be glued back together. Kisa wanted to cry but instead Aki pulled her hair out of her face and bent down and helped pick up her things, with Kisa’s help of course, and shoved them back into the bag and hastily got on the plane.

Their flight wasn’t too terribly long, it was only a four hour flight to Seoul, South Korea then about another two hours after that. Their layover was a short one, only about an hour. During the layover Kisa was going to listen to her messages on her phone but noticed that she forgot to charge her phone beforehand and when she opened her phone back up, she saw that she had only 2% battery life left and the charger was in the suitcase. She lightly cursed under her breath and quickly left a short message just to inform Kiyoko that they’d be home early. ‘Hey honey, your father and I are coming home early, see you soon! Phone’s going to die so I’ll talk to you later. I miss you and I love you!’

Once flight 380 finally landed, they were eager to get home and get the feeling of the airport out of their skins. When they reached their home. it was silent. The only noise to be heard was that of the doors slow creak that echoed in the empty home. Kisa felt unwell; she felt a constant unease at the entire situation dealing with the missed messages but Aki’s constant reassurance calmed her nerves a bit. He had created this wonderful idea that when they got home they would prepare Kiyoko’s favorite meal and once she came home from school they would have so much fun re-connecting and telling each other stories about their grand adventure in China and about how their match against Shiratorizawa went. They were both looking forward to this, as they missed their daughter so very much. They were always so proud of Kiyoko and how she would always have enough energy for family time even after studying and helping the volleyball team.

With the thought of this soon to be fun family time with their daughter this lightened Kisa’s spirits although she couldn’t quite relinquish that foreboding sense that something was wrong. Kisa rushed to the power outlet with her suitcase and whipped out her charger to hurriedly charge her now dead phone and listen to the messages. Aki, accepting his wife’s actions, grabbed their suitcases and puts them in their room to be unpacked later. When Kiyoko’s father reached back downstairs Kisa was still crouched next to the wall waiting for her phone to charge. Aki shook his head back and forth a little and with a small smile on his face he sighed at his nervous wife. He walked towards her and crouched next to her, softly touching her shoulder and through their unspoken language, he indicated her worries are little excessive. Tenderly, Aki said, “I’ll get a bath running for you to relax for a bit. I know how you feel after flying.”

Kisa looked back and forth from her husband to her phone  started saying, “But what about-”

“When you’re done in the bath your phone will be fully charged and you’ll be able to listen to the messages. Meanwhile I’ll get a start on dinner, alright. Please honey, you know I love you but please relax a bit. All of this worrying, even though it's so kind of you, is not good for your health.” Aki said. Kisa understood her husband's pleading and she agreed but before he left to go upstairs, Kisa walked over and gave her husband a soft peck on the cheek.

After the bath, Kisa came downstairs feeling refreshed and thankful for her loving and caring husband, but was instead greeted by the smell of something burning. Aki, who was staring at the small television in the kitchen, managed to burn some of the rice for the Tenmusu, fumes slowly rising to make a small cloud of burned ingredients right in front of him. He set the pan aside, forgetting to turn off the stove in the process, and moved to turn the television volume up. Kisa arrived to a loud t.v. and a burning smell filling the air and ran over to turn off the stove. “AKI!” She yelled as she used her hand as a fan and swiped at the smoke in the air, eventually causing the smoke detector to go off. All the while her husband stood with his eyes glued to the TV and not saying a word as Kisa pulled over a dining room chair and stood on it to fix the alarm. After everything was said and done she confusingly and angrily turned towards her husband, about to yell right at him for not helping, when she read the top of the news report. “Update on the ‘Karasuno Crash’?” She said out loud as she grabbed the chair she was just standing on and dragged it over to the TV, placing it next to her husband. Aki looked petrified, a look she never wished to see from again. “Aki?” She began, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder, “What’s the news been saying?”

Aki slowly turned his head and sadly looked at his wife, “I don't know… I was cooking and decided to turn the TV on… And the news came up… And… And they started talking about this bus crash that happened really late last night…” Aki breathed out, taking a breath before continuing. “Kisa… This bus crash was the same bus that the boy's volleyball team was using… The same one Kiyoko was on!” Kisa became absolutely hysterical as questions after questions arose in her mind and came out her mouth about the potential state of her daughter. She suddenly remembered her phone and gasped out loud, running over to the wall to finally listen to the messages.

Most of the messages on Kisa’s phone were all from a specific number; the hospital. All of which saying the exact same thing, “Mr. and Mrs. Shimizu, please, we need you to come to the hospital immediately. We have information concerning your daughter”.

Kisa fumbled around quickly on her phone trying to click the next button to listen to the rest of her messages. She was so nervous that her bones shook and trembled like crazy, her finger almost missing the play button on her phone. By now Aki had walked over uneasily as well and sat next to his wife as she put the phone on speaker and held it in front of both of them with shaky hands. The next message played and Kisa gasped as she heard her mother’s voice on the receiver. Her and Aki’s hearts stopped as they waited for her mother to begin talking. “Kisa darling…” she paused and sniffled on the other end of the receiver before the miserable voice continued, “I’m so...so sorry… Kiyoko was a beautiful, generous girl… I just can’t believe she’s gone… I- I-” Kisa’s mother wretchedly cried as she trailed off into incoherent mumblings over the phone giving them their condolences for their loss.

Upon hearing that message Kisa dropped the phone on the ground and stared blankly at the wall for a moment while tears filled her eyes and she screamed. Aki didn’t even flinch at the sound of the yells of despair, instead he fell back on his rear in absolute terror, hands coming up to cover his face.

One by one the messages continued to play on the ground all of them brief and sorrowful, and all saying the exact same thing: “We’re so sorry for your loss.” Kisa was in such shock and disbelief that she just continued to listen to the messages, her muscles froze in place. The only movement in her entire body was a slight twitch whenever the next message was played. Aki couldn’t take it anymore; the sadness, the heart-wrenching, the despair, but most of all the regret he felt for thinking that everything would be fine. Suddenly, through his grief-stricken rage Aki grabbed the phone and violently threw it against the wall.

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHE’S NOT GONE! SHE’S-” Aki roared, watching the phone smash it to pieces. “She can’t be…” He wept as Kisa jumped up and finally snapped back into reality. This was completely out of character for Aki. Never once in all her years of knowing him, of being married to him had she ever seen him get so mad; normally he was always such a calm and kind person. She knew that sometimes he tended to bottle up his emotions and frustrations, but they have worked hard on being more open to each other, this though, this was something completely different. To burst out in anger like this was such a shock that even Aki himself was just staring at the result of his actions in bewilderment, his eyes wide open and just staring at the broken phone in distress, images of Kiyoko flashing before his eyes. Eventually his eyes trailed down to look at his hand and he clenched it tight.

Kisa, now a little bit fearful of her husband, stood up and walked sheepishly towards him slowly trying to reach and touch his shoulder but stopped midway. “W-we need to go to the hospital t-to check, m-maybe it’s not her?” Kisa’s voice faltering as she said these words, knowing full well that the last part was an obvious lie or even denial of the obvious fact presented to them. Aki simply continued to stare downwards at the floor in shame.

“Kisa… We both know that they wouldn’t have called if it was not her.” Aki said with a slight maddening look spread across his face. Kisa noticed her husband’s eyebrow begin to furrow and wondered if he would erupt in a fit of rage once more.

“Aki, come on… We have to go check.” She sadly said, tears hiding behind her eyes. Suddenly, as if her husband came out from a trance, Aki looked at her and nodded, grabbing the keys off the counter.  The car ride was a silent one, no one talked and no one dared to turn on the radio in fear for what they might hear. All that kept them company on the ride to the hospital was the darkening of the day. The sun had already gone below the horizon and was casting its final light on the world.

Contrast to when Kisa and Aki entered into the hospital they were met with bright fluorescent lights. They both squinted their eyes in pain to the light and walked towards the reception desk. Once they told the workers who they were, they were greeted with pained looks on the receptionists’ faces: a look of grief and pity towards now childless parents. Once the couple, mainly Kisa because Aki was still in disbelief, had finished the paperwork they were allowed to see their daughter. Doctor Osamu led them through a series of corners and hallways all leading to one single set of double doors labeled “Coroner's Office.” Aki froze upon seeing this sign and remained still as he stared at it; images of Kiyoko smiling flashed through his mind and he could begin to feel tears swelling up. He heard the Doctor’s concerns, comments, and warnings about Kiyoko’s situation, but all was lost in Aki. All of the doctor’s words were blurred out. He was entirely numb. They all entered through the doors and he noticed Kisa’s body shaking and usually he would have gone to comfort her but all he could do was stare with eyes as cold as a dead body. The coroner warned them of what they were about to see and began to pull out a body from a metal block frame. The body was covered in a white clean sheet. _It can’t be my baby girl. It can’t be._

Aki pushed both the doctor and Kisa aside and lifted the sheet in one quick motion and stared down at the girl’s body. Kisa had her eyes closed the entire time after Aki had pushed her but now she began to open her eyes in response to a scream that echoed in the bare room. The scream had come from her husband and she was curious but fearful about why her husband had screamed. Though she wished to keep the image of Kiyoko’s sly smile in her mind, she wanted to see what happened for herself, she wanted the cold hard fact.

Aki revealed Kiyoko laying on the metal plate from the shoulder’s up with the rest of her body covered by the sheet. She was all cleaned up, there was no blood anywhere on her body and she had fresh new stitches, but she was also excruciatingly pale, cold, and lifeless.

Kisa, seeing her daughter in this state, fell to her knees and began to cry, each tear produced representing a dagger stabbing her heart. The remorseful coroner attempted to pull the sheet back over the corpse’s body but his hand was grabbed by Aki, who was shooting a death glare at the poor hospital worker. The coroner put his hand over the sorrowful husband’s and apologized to the parents for their loss, offering to help them find a good funeral home or crematorium for their daughter.

 

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Three days after the dreadful incident that happened on the mountain, Ukai and a few others were released from the hospital and given instructions to regain their strength at home and rest. Ukai wished he could do that, to be able to rest. It sounded like such a wonderful idea, but he knew that it would never happen. In the past three days, Ukai’s thoughts have been constantly battling between the thought of living with his mistakes or accepting the punishment his mind had decreed for him. Ukai has managed no more than a couple hours of sleep, for every time he tried he was haunted by the incarnations of those who had died prior, harassing him and talking to him inside his head. With insanity creeping at every corner, he didn’t want this torment to endure any further; half of the time he was awake, he constantly wondered if he was in a nightmare, and when he slept, all he dreamt about were horrible ways one could die. The bags under his eyes were the darkest they had ever been and quite frankly he just didn’t have the energy anymore. He never wanted to talk to anyone, neither the staff or any visitors, and he retracted himself from the rest of the world like a turtle hiding in its shell from the claws of those who would blame him. He’d attempt to enjoy the little peace he could spare but in the end it wouldn’t matter because the tranquility he would rarely feel would soon be disrupted by some deceased member of his team lingering in his mind or manifesting as apparitions in front of him.

The first thing Ukai did when he got home was go to the medicine cabinet and get the sleeping pills out. He placed two pills in his open palm and looked down sadly. _Maybe I…_ Ukai began to think but stopped himself from having any more negative thoughts and quickly popped the pills in his mouth, rinsing it down with a swig of water. The combination of the sleeping pills and the fatigue from being sleep deprived at the hospital caused the man to fall asleep so fast that he didn’t even have time to make it to his bed. Ukai plopped his body down on the closest cushioned surface, the couch in his living room, and within seconds was fast asleep.

Ukai felt cold and was wearing a winter jacket when he found himself standing in the middle of some small cemetery, presumably in the countryside based on the lack of other significant buildings in the visible area. _Why am I here?_ and _Where this place?_ were the only questions running through Ukai’s mind as he stood in the middle of the cemetery, cold wind brushing up against his jacket causing him to shiver. It was near twilight, the sun had just gone down but the its rays were still visible on the horizon. The place itself was serene, despite being devoid of all life; every tree in the enclosed area had lost its leaves and their branches seemed to be filed down and sharpened like needles. The grass below Ukai’s feet was similarly withered but was also now a sickly shade of gray as if the entire location had been scorched and left to atrophy. In the distance, overlooking the cemetery, sat a mountain full of life, with plentiful green trees and and flowers galore. Between the mountain and the cemetery sat a sparkling lake, it’s tranquil waters sat still and unmoving like a pool of glass. If it wasn’t so dark out Ukai thought that maybe you’d be able to see straight through the dark waters all the way to the bottom. The atmosphere in this place was overpowering as the coach stood staring in awe at the glorious sight, eye going from mountain to lake then scanning back up to watch the last ray of light fall behind the mountain. It was a wonderful sensation, the feeling of peace, and Ukai wanted to take it all in.

“Breathtaking isn’t it?” Daichi said as he walked over and stood next to the coach. By this point Ukai was so fed up with fighting the spirits away that he simply accepted Daichi’s presence without any questions.

“Yeah… I’ve never seen anything so breathtaking before” Ukai answered causing Daichi to smile in response. At first their conversation was nice, everything felt normal between the two in a twisted sort of sense. They talked as if they were long-lost friends reuniting with each other rather than a coach and his player. For a moment, Ukai had the feeling that all those that haunted him for so long had finally found peace and forgiven him.

It was foolish for Ukai to think otherwise.

Soon, Daichi grabbed his hand and turned the coach around, “Follow me, there is something I must show you” he said in a calming yet menacing way. Ukai followed Daichi down a cracked and broken cobblestone path that had long since been overgrown with weeds and dead grass. The graveyard looked to be frozen in time as he observed the area around him seeing all the dead trees and plants. Even though everything was dead around him, the cemetery itself was quite calm. It was a weird feeling for Ukai to notice, like a mixture of peace yet dread upon arrival. After about a minute of walking, Ukai started to notice ghost of the dead rising up out of the ground and sitting in front of their small tombstones praying, pleading for help, or outright crying. Ukai flinched slightly when he heard a mother, a woman he had never seen before, calling to her baby girl over and over, screaming her name at the top of her voice. The shrill sound of the voice sent shivers down his spine. Eventually he got to where the third year was taking him, at first glance it was a small circular area a little aways from the rest of the bodies. There were 7 tombs in all, each one with a name inscribed on it. Ukai glanced down at the first one closest to him and read _Daichi Sawamura_ , along with some illegible words beneath, likely the dates of the boy’s birth and death. As soon as he realized what this was the ghosts of all the others seemed to phase through the ground, not even disturbing the dirt that lay above them and their graves. All members looked as Ukai had last seen them; dead and bloody. Ukai watched in horror as Kiyoko clawed her way through the dirt while Takeda just sat there on his own grave staring at Ukai with his once innocent eyes, now forever tormenting the coach.

Ukai scanned the faces of his beloved team members and friends and felt the sudden need to throw up. Takeda was sitting down, back against his grave with a jaw that was crooked and hanging down his face, eyes dead and lifeless as they stared directly up at Ukai. Next to Takeda was Kiyoko, her body split in two as her organs spilled out over her grave and she cried for help. Then Kinoshita, eyes glassy and foggy, blood oozing down his mouth. Next to him was Narita, overall one of the best looking among the corpses of team members but the scariest thing about him were his eyes, dead and staring right at him, similar to the eyes of Takeda. Ukai then glanced back up at Daichi who now slowly sat down now, hand over stomach and back resting against his grave. Inside of Daichi stomach was the pole from early still protruding out as blood started to leak out his stomach, face paling intensely. It was like watching someone die in slow motion, the third years started by standing normally and ended on the ground covered in blood. Even Noya rose up from under his grave to join his friends in what looked from an onlookers perspective to be a conjuring of spirits. Because Ukai had not seen Noya’s death, nor was he told how he died, this Nishinoya appeared with a giant shard of metal wedged into his forehead, body crumpled and broke at all angles like a marionette doll. Ukai never witness his death, being that Noya was found by Tanaka, but he did heard about his passing which caused him to go even further into his guilt and depression. He was glad though that he never saw any incarnations of Nishinoya before now, seeing that he wasn’t with him during the crash. Regardless, the sight horrified Ukai and he stepped back trying to escape the clutches of having to witness this any longer but was stopped by a shrill voice causing him to turn around to see Kiyoko on the ground clawing her way through the crumpled grass  on the dark floor, eyes red with anger.

“Ukai you made us look this way! It’s time for you to take your place!” she screamed as the others joined in in the background like a menacing choir of disassembled bodies and voices. Over and over again, all Ukai heard inside his head was the mantra “Ukaiiiiii, ukkkkaiiiii, it’s time to take your place among us!”

The poor coach tried pinching himself, tried slapping himself, tried everything in his power to wake up but nothing worked. He kept repeating over and over in his head _this can’t be real, this can’t be real, this can’t be real! Stop it! Leave me alone! Just go away!_ “GO AWAY!!” he screamed, letting his thoughts manifest into words.

“But Ukai, we’re not complete without you. You see,” Kinoshita said stepping forward, eyes much darker than he’d ever seen them, so much so that he looked to be virtually demonic; pupils  almost completely fading into the darkness of his eyes. He looked intimidating, causing Ukai to shiver and turn around. “Your place is with us, you shouldn’t even be alive. You are living on borrowed time already Ukai.” Kinoshita slyly threatened pointing towards one more stone near the center of their circle. Although the sun was completely down now and the moon was up, the stone seemed to glow a shade of light blue around the edges. He had a bad feeling of what it was going to say already but looked nevertheless. There in front of him was a tombstone, old and berated by wind over time with one simple name inscribed into the dark stone: Keishin Ukai.

The man staggered backwards, his knees buckling under the weight of dread that entrenched himself in his body. The stone slab of tangible mortality lay half-buried in the dirt, slightly askew to the left with a faded inscription below the name that Ukai could not read. His legacy and everything that remained of this man sat before him, forgotten by all except for time.

Ukai continued to step back further and further until suddenly all those who surrounded him before came at him at once and pushed him with great force into a man made hole in the ground about 2 meters down. Ukai fell hard, slamming his back against some form of wood, knocking the wind out of him. He tried to sit up straight and look around and noticed instantly that he was sitting in a coffin. He looked up pleadingly and witnessed Daichi standing at the top with the other members of the Karasuno team that died hovering around him. The boy was centered, and in a weird sort of way reminded Ukai of a King surrounded by henchmen. Daichi stood in the center with a shovel and grin so wide that it might put the chesire cat to shame. "It's your turn," he said as he began shoveling a pile of dirt onto Ukai, Nishinoya sitting at Daichi’s feet. The coach screamed at the boy to stop and moved to get up out of the coffin but was now held down by Kinoshita and Narita who had phased through the ground like they’d done earlier, reaching out with their hands to seize him.

“Stay with us coach” Narita snickered unnervingly holding down his left side as Kinoshita held down Ukai’s opposite side. Ukai tried and tried to get out of the hold but with the dirt being thrown on top of him and the two boys with unhuman strength holding him down, life seemed impossible to grasp. Slowly he saw the light fading in front of his eye as the dirt piled higher and higher, slowly suffocating him until suddenly Ukai gasped awake panting and wheezing, soaking in sweat and sticking to his body.

Slowly Ukai turned his head and looked at the glowing clock on the wall that read one a.m.. “It useless, I’m never going to get sleep again” the man whispered to himself as he sat up on the couch cushion and placed his hands up to his face, massaging his forehead. He slightly winced when a small stinging pain ran up his bad arm and he quickly put it back down in his lap but continued to keep the good hand on his forehead. Gently he moved his hand down so it covered both his eyes and he stayed like this for a few moments of brief silence.

“Do it.” Daichi appeared in the corner of his living room, bar still protruding out of his abdomen as it bled out onto the floor. Ukai angrily threw the couch pillow across the room in the direction of the voice, knocking over a lamp in the process.

“GO AWAY” he screamed, this time knowing what he had to do, there was no other way around it. He couldn’t take this anymore; the voices, the nightmares, the insomnia, the guilt, everything. Ukai ran up the stairs to his bedroom hearing Daichi below him on the previous floor still chanting ‘ _Do it’_ over and over again.

Ukai reached his door to his bedroom and slammed it shut, falling  to the floor in front of his nightstand, tears escaping down his face trying to catch his breath. For half a second, he thought he was safe until Daichi walked right through the bedroom door and screamed louder this time to his face, “DO IT!”

“I can’t-” Ukai screamed through tears as snot ran down his nose, “Please leave me alone! Please...” he pleaded but to no avail as Daichi stood with a stern face now only a few feet or so away from Ukai himself.

Daichi walked closer and crouched down next to Ukai’s ear, ignoring all his beggings and smugly cupped one of his hands in an enticing way around his mouth and said “Do it”. Ukai swung his arms around in a circular motion and closed his eyes screaming “I can’t do this anymore!” When he opened his eyes next Daichi was gone and he was alone, in the darkness of his room in complete solitude. “I can’t… I just…” Ukai sniffled as he opened the drawer and saw his handgun sitting there as it it was calling out his name. “I just can’t… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… Please forgive me” Ukai sorrowfully confessed as he tried loading one bullet into his gun, dropping it at first but feeling around the dark with his good hand until he found it again. _One shot is all I need._ Ukai thought grief-ridden and remorseful as he hesitantly put the bullet back into the gun and reached up to his head with shaky fingers. _This is it... I’m so sorry..._ Ukai thought as he shakily pressed the barrel of the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alllllriiiiighhhhht so I could have put part 1 and 2 together but I thought it might be easier if I just did it this way. As always thanks you Rob and also to my friend Sonja!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Chapter 11

 

A week had passed since the day of the dreaded accident that forever changed the lives of many young souls. When Karasuno found out about the news of their fellow students and friends, the whole school seemed to fall into a depression of sorts. The once happy atmosphere of Karasuno seemed permanently grounded in despair as students and teachers alike listened in shock to the PA system calling for an unplanned school assembly. There, the principle, vice principle, and a few others stood center stage. No one knew what the service was for but it called for all students and faculty to attend immediately.

The vice principal took stage once all classes were jam packed into the tight space and began the start of the bad news. No one was prepared for the upcoming announcement, especially not Michimiya.

Michimiya Yui was one of Daichi’s closest friends and had even gone to the same middle school with him and Ikeji. She’d known him for so long, being that they both loved volleyball, and each being the captain of their respective teams. Overtime she had and even developed a crush on Daichi, but she was so scatterbrained and nervous when with him that she never actually told him how she felt. She and a few others even worked together the day before to make a good luck charm for the Karasuno team, but everyone knew that she really wanted to make it to have something to give to Daichi. Now she will never get the chance to do that. Now Daichi was gone and she couldn't imagine a world without him. After hearing about the rest of the deaths Yui became so devastated with the news of not only Daichi’s death but the others as well that she became sick to her stomach. Once the feeling of bile was present in her throat she quickly excused herself from the school meeting and threw up in the women’s bathroom. Throughout the next week, the teachers even felt as though their lessons that they were teaching had no merit, for no one seemed to be in spirits anymore, nor were the students listening for that matter.

Suga, along with mostly everyone else, spent the first and second day after the incident in the hospital recovering. The days were long and nobody really felt like talking much, most people just slept. Tsukishima had spent most of his first day sleeping, while Kageyama, Ennoshita, and Yachi tried to hold a conversation. They asked Suga if he wished to join in but Suga just continued to stare out the window and watched as a bird flew from a tree branch and joined a small group a birds and started flying south for the winter. Occasionally Suga would get up to stretch a little and walk down the corridors to get some fresh air in a sense but even when doing that his mind was constantly thinking about Daichi or Noya or all his other friends that were no longer with him.

One time on a walk down the hall to visit Asahi, he passed by Ukai’s room and heard, through the crack in the open door his coach talking to someone, but couldn’t figure out who it could be since he was almost positive that there was no one in his room and cell phones were not permitted in the rooms themselves. Suga stopped and knocked on his door lightly to figure out more about his condition he was in and wanted to talk to him to see if he was alright, but as soon as he knocked on the door Ukai yelled things like, "Go away!" Or "Leave me alone" to an angry Daichi who resurfaced himself in front of Ukai. The coach himself probably didn’t even hear Suga knock in all honesty and yelled out at the apparition of Daichi instead. Thus, refusing access to all visitors who wished to see him. Even if Ukai was conscious enough, he wouldn’t want people to see him anyway; he didn’t want to drag them down into the hell that became his mind. During the time Suga stood outside his door, Ukai was having a particularly angry conversation with Daichi in his mind. The third year talking to him and taunting him, causing Ukai to break further and further down, becoming the shell of who he once was. This initially scared Suga as he walked back a few steps and sharply turned on his heel and headed as fast as he could to Asahi’s door.

There were very few times in the two days that Suga was there that Asahi let anyone in. It was surprising that on this day, the end of the second day being in the hospital, the timid third year actually answered the door with a ‘Who's there?’ and let Suga enter. Even when Suga came in, Asahi didn’t speak much to his fellow friend, and would only answer very rarely, but Suga felt a little happier just knowing that he was in the same room with him. 

Ukai, along with Kageyama, Ennoshita, Yachi, Suga, Tanaka, and Asahi were finally allowed to return home on the morning of their third day there and left the hospital for more peace and quiet in their own homes. At least most of them did, Ukai's plans changed however for the worst. 

Still, the days seemed to drag on and on and Suga couldn’t take it, he just had to get out, he had to do something. He got out of thw hospital on monday afternoon and for the next day he did nothing but sleep and have overwhelming thoughts of sadness. The broken third year made his way down the steps of his house Tuesday afternoon to stretch out his legs when he ran into his mom down in his livingroom. His little siblings were at school during this time and his mother had the day off. 

“Hello Koshi!" His mother said with a bit more enthusiasm than she wanted. This last week has been very hard on both of them, Suga having gone through the hell that he went through and his mother stuck in between wanting to help her son and not knowing how. Suga looked up at his mother when he got to the last step and slowly nodded. "Hello mother..." he replied in a rather slow and drawn out breath. Rika leaned in towards her son and gave him a quick hug before letting go and looking into his eyes. "I saw the Azumanes at the store this morning... They told me that your school is throwing a memorial service on Friday for your team. I..." She began, staring into the dead eyes of her son. She knew that he would get better overtime and ahe desperatly held onto that thought. Still she believed that he should go, maybe it could be like a sort of closure in a way. "I think you should go, everyone in town looks to be going too. When I ran into Ryoko Azumane she said that she’s going to take Asahi up there for a little bit as well. She thinks it would at least  be a good idea for him to see and talk to a few people. He’s been cooped up in his room forever and he needs some fresh air. Shes worried about Asahi... says he has bearly talked in the last 4 days... Maybe... Maybe if you went...you could talk to him? Tell him he's not alone?” Rika calmly suggested hoping that by bringing up the fact that Asahi would be going would make Suga want to go too, if not for the memorial, at least go to get some fresh air. Suga glanced her way and Rika knew that she had gotten to her son  as his lip curled up in a half smile, happy to hear that Asahi would at least be going for a little bit.

“Yeah… I’ll go” Suga replied as he looked over at his mother “Mom, I’m going to head out for a while, I was thinking of  going to the school and collect my homework, it’s the least I can do. I feel too cooped up here” Suga said as his mother nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan honey, smart thinking" she smiled and watched her son reach down and grab his brown shoulder bag with his good arm, seeig that the other arm still in a sling. The bag was heavy and Suga temporarily forgot what all he had in it. As he bent down to grab it, he felt a rush of what felt like fire burn through his arm that had the cast and sling on it. Suga quickly dropped the satchel, spilling some of the contents on the floor that consisted of books and pencils. Rika rushed over and sat on her knees helping her son pick up his things. “No! Stop it mom… I… I need to do this myself.” Koshi snapped as Mrs. Sugawara looked up pleadingly at her son.

“But-” she began but was harshly cut off by her son. Suga huffed and bent down again, this time slower as he reached for one of his chemistry books.

“No” he said again only with a much softer and quieter tone. “I need to be able to do things on my own again mom and if you just keep helping me out around every turn I’ll never get better and grow stronger.”

Rika looked at her son in an apologetic way and slowly stood back up. “I’m sorry Koshi” she began apologetically, “It’s just, I see you in pain and I want to help. I want you to grow stronger I really do, but that doesn’t mean your dear ol’ mother here can’t help you in the process. Please, it’s okay to rely on me more. I only want to see you get healthy again.” Rika smiled as she took her hand and nuzzled Koshi’s hair. Suga finished grabbing all his books and set them on the table in the hallway as he stood, ready to go once more when his mother ruffled his hair. In a way, this was normal behavior, something she would do typically, and in that small fraction of a second he laughed, a small smile forming on his lips as he told him mother to quit it in a joking tone. Seeing her son smile again brought tears of joy to Rika Sugawara and she cried out in happy tears, embracing him into a hug. “I love you so much, I need you to always remember that Koshi dear” she cried finally releasing him from her grip. The moment quickly ended though as Suga’s grin faltered and his eyes once again trailed out the window and he watched as a little boy rode his bike alongside the sidewalk, his father jogging next to him.

His mother offered to drive him to school but Suga just shook his head and told her that he wanted to clear his head before getting there and that he would walk. Rika has worried about her son nonstop since the day of the accident but never knew how to help him. Every time she tried to talk to him about something he would grow distant and tell her he needed time alone. She knew that this would be hard on him and tried not to bother him too much but she couldn’t help herself from worrying all the time.

Eventually, Suga left his house and began his trek towards school. It was true that Suga was now behind in his classes and needed to collect his homework so he doesn't fall behind, but it was also true that he needed some air to himself. After some time, he turned the corner to walk up the last strip of road that led to Karasuno High School but immediately stopped when he saw an ambulance zoom past him. Suga turned to look and noticed the flashing lights on the cop cars still lining the street. Curious, he wanted to ask questions seeing as the Ambulance looked to come from around Ukai’s shop, but before Suga got a chance to even ask questions the cops on the side of the road were ushering children by and directing traffic. Noticing this, Suga decided better not to ask and continued to walk past the vehicles being sure to stay out of sight. Suga considered stopping by the foothill store once more on his way home once the cops had left to check on Ukai. As soon as he thought this, he shook his head and remembered the last time he tried to visit. _Maybe he just needs to be left alone for a while?_ He assumed as he hitched up his bag on his shoulder more when he felt it sliding down.

Finally, the third year reached the front gate of school and stared up at the building. In Suga’s mind it was more of an escape to get out of his house that he felt cooped up in. He stood in front of the school building, the day before the memorial and took a deep breath. His arm was in a sling and he was carrying his typical light brown bag over his good shoulder as he lethargically walked up to his high school that he knew so well.

As soon as Suga walked into class, everyone stopped their chatting and stared at him in silence; it was an incredible pressure to feel, the sensation of knowing that all eyes were on him. Suga knew by looking around the room that most of his friends wished him well and didn’t like to see him sad, a few of them even came up to him and patted him on the back lightly saying their apologies before taking the seats again. He arrived at a good time, it was break time for about 10 more minutes so going in and out should be a quick task. Suga knew that his friends were only trying to help, that they were only trying to tell him that they were there for him, but once Suga’s eyes landed on Daichi’s seat all feelings came back to him and he tried to keep the tears in. The teacher gathered up the homework that he would need to finished and handed them to him quietly, also hoping for his safe return to school. As soon as he picked up his homework he put it in his bag and quickly turned around leaving without saying a word to anyone. Suga was surprisingly the first one to return to school, the rest of the team took the whole first week off. It was surprising to see Suga back so early, most people assumed that it would be normal for one to take off all this week. After grabbing his homework, Suga turned around quickly and walked back out of the classroom that he knew so well.

That was yesterday.

It was the morning of the memorial service and Suga woke up groggily and late. He turned over to look at the time on his alarm clock and read 12:20pm. Suga couldn’t remember the last time he’d ever slept past 10. Last night was strange, he was tossing and turning all night long and yet still he managed to have a weird dream. Lazily, he sat up in bed and gasped when the stinging pain in his arm returned. He sat, unmoving in his bed for a few minutes waiting for the pain to subside until finally he got up. Eventually, he made his way down the hall and to the bathroom. Once inside, he looked in the mirror and was disgusted with himself, his nose was awfully red and swollen, bandage still covering over it horizontally, and he had a few small cuts lining his face as well. He never knew how hard life could be with just one arm until now as he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste with the same hand. After what seemed like forever in the bathroom Suga sluggishly walked back to his own room passing by the twins bedroom, both of them  were up and already watching some cartoon downstairs in the living room. He turned, finally making his way back to his room to get dressed for the day, that was the hardest part of every morning and night; putting clothes on. Suga walked over to his closet and grabbed out a nice set of black clothes and set them on the bed. The memorial service wasn’t until 2:00, but Suga liked to have extra time to relax.

After getting dressed in a nice pair of black slacks and a tan turtleneck sweater with a black jacket over top, he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen for lunch. Suga hated missing a meal, he always felt disoriented when he did, so for him to wake up so late and miss breakfast, that already threw him off. Upon walking into the kitchen, he noticed Yoshiro and Shiori at the couch watching some cartoon and arguing back and forth and his mother in the kitchen.

“Ah Koshi!” She said turning around from the stove, “Would you like some bacon and scrambled eggs?”

Suga walked over to an empty seat at the table next and nodded, slightly confused, “Sure, but why bacon and eggs? It’s lunchtime…?”

Rika opened the refrigerator and reached a hand in to grab out two eggs. “Because you missed breakfast so I thought that maybe I’d make you breakfast for lunch?” Rika smiled as she cracked two eggs into a bowl and poured a tad bit of milk in then started whipping it. After a few seconds of doing so she poured the eggs into a skillet and Suga heard the faint sound of it sizzling. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, smelling the wonderful aroma in the air. Eventually the smell of bacon mixed together with the eggs and the combo was almost intoxicating. Suga hadn’t had a home-cooked meal in a while since in the hospital for the past few days and did not realize until now how much he missed his mom’s cooking. Eventually Suga opened his eyes back up and saw his mother bring over a plate of food and a cup of milk. “One serving of scrambled eggs and bacon coming right up” She said as she placed the plate in front of her eldest son, “There you are”. Maybe in another time and place Suga might laugh at his mother ridiculousness as she pretended she was a waitress, but right here and now seemed like a far off wish as he silently picked up his silverware and took one bite at a time.

The plate was wiped clean by Suga before he got up and walked it over the sink. He placed th plate inside with his right arm, since his left arm was in a sling and walked out of the kitchen. The twins were upstairs getting dressed into their memorial outfits and soon ran down the stairs followed by his mother. Eventually they all walked out of the house and got into the car.

Suga sat up front, head leaning against the window as he looked up at the darkening clouds above, eyes tracing the trees that were going by. It was surprising that it didn’t rain the whole whole ride there, as the wind picked up and brushed against the moving car. At around 1:40pm  they finally arrived at Karasuno, the school board deciding beforehand to cancel school today in order to give their students, teachers, and family time to grieve. The service was said to take place at two o’clock, so they got there just in time.

It was a muggy overcast day, dark clouds looming in the sky above yet no rain fell, as if the sky itself was miserable and dreary trying its hardest to hold back its tears like the many students at Karasuno High School. Suga stood in front of the school building with his mother walking next to him, both her hands holding onto her two younger children. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Ms. Sugawara asked as she saw the look of dread looming over her son’s face.

“Yeah…” Suga replied dejectedly as he began walking into the school building. The school had organized the entire auditorium to hold the memorial service and had even decorated it accordingly.

Inside the memorial service were rows of white and yellow Chrysanthemums flowers that sat lining the aisleways and walls. Up on stage sat one long table with a lace tablecloth over top and a rainbow of flowers of all sorts of sizes and colors. In between each section of flowers, sat a picture frame of one of the deceased with a small candle lit next to it causing a light glow to shine on their nameplate and picture. Two tall and thin candles flanked each portrait, burning down steadily with streaks of wax falling down the candle, though eachstill remained taller than the portraits they surrounded. There was a soft lullaby playing in the background, mostly string instruments, violin and guitar strumming softly, almost heavenly. Each person on the stage had a nametag of sorts below their picture, but from where Suga stood it was hard to read or see any of the pictures. The third year moved to walk further inside the doorframe and stopped when he saw Ennoshita wave at him. Ennoshita turned to his parents to say something and then walked up to Suga and his family.

“Hello, Mrs. Sugawara,” Ennoshita politely said as Suga’s mother smiled and said hello in return.

Seeing that these two boys might wish to speak to each other alone, she turned towards her son and said, “I’ll be up front if you need anything.” She then turned to walk down the aisle with her other two children who were both astonished by how beautiful the flowers were.

Suga nodded and solemnly turned back towards Chikara. “Hey, how ya feeling…” Ennoshita said uneasily as Suga’s eyes traced all around the auditorium resting eventually on the stage of the frames for the deceased. The last time Ennoshita tried talking to Suga he was in the hospital and the boy was in no mood to talk then. With this in mind, Ennoshita approached his senior once more, hoping that this time they could have a more civil and lengthy conversation. Again, he asked how things were going but when Suga said nothing he spoke once more, this time clearing his throat, “You know, I saw Kageyama a few minutes ago, he was talking to Akaashi and Bokuto, apparently they arrived over an hour ago.” Ennoshita said, the last part defiantly catching Suga’s attention as the third year looked over in shock at the second year, not thinking that those two would travel so far to see them.

“What? Akaashi and Bokuto are here?” Suga replied confused as Ennoshita simply nodded and pointed them out in the crowd. It wasnt hatd to spot Bokutos black and white hair amound the room of people. Both he and Akaashi wore similar black suits, Akaashi with a navy blue shirt underneath and Bokuto with a gray shirt on underneath. In Bokuto's hand rested a couple orange roses, and each one having an intended purpose on getting placed in front of the frames on stage. It was his teams decision that they should get orange roses to complement the teams color and Bukuto agreed to place them on stage. 

“Yeah, but not just them, all of Nekoma is here too. They all came to pay their respects to our team. It was nice of them to come all this way, dontcha think?” Ennoshita calmly addressed reaching over and rubbing his bad arm. “Come on, why don’t we go say hello?” Ennoshita suggested as he gestured towards a doorway where Bokuto and Akaashi just stepped through after talking with Kageyama. Suga nodded in agreement as they turned and walked in the direction of the two students from Fukurōdani. "Hey" Ennoshita called out, trying his best to muster some sort of smile across his features, suga doing the same. "Thanks for coming guys... It really means a lot to us" Ennoshita finished as Akaashi and Bokuto turned to talk to the two boys. "It's very beautiful... There's so many different shades of flowers that the room seems bursting to life-" Bokuto began before realizing how that might have sounded and seeing Suga's gave drift sharply to the floor. "Oh no... I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Bokuto began but seemed to stumble on his own words before Akaashi jumped in to save the day. "What he means is that the service is beautiful and even though we are gathered here in sadness and the mere thought if them being gone is just so unfamable... I believe they would be happy at the turn out at least." The second year finished as he gestured with one hand to the ammount of people flooding into the room now. It was no wonder why so many people were starting to appear now, it was now only 15 more minutes until the service began. Akaashi noticed Tsukishima leaning back in his chair that sat parallel with an aisleway and thought for a second that maybe he should go see how he was doing, but before he had the chance to even finish the thought completely he saw Kuroo heading down the aisle towards him and returned his attention back to the conversation he was having with Suga, Ennoshita, and Bokuto. 

Near the front row of the auditorium, Tsukishima sat alone in one of the alleyway chairs, his head leaning back on the seat and his leg trying it’s best to stretch out. His crutches sat tucked in between the row of seats and the alleyway itself. It had been one week, but still the tall first year felt like death warmed over, he was much paler than he used to be, and had constant headaches ranging from small pains to throbbings so intense that he’d actually passed out on multiple occasions. His medicine was strong but it did have some pretty nasty side effects at times. It did give him a little comfort though when Dr. Hibiki told him that he was lucky if his injury were even a millimeter different then he could have suffered some potential brain damage. The doctor was actually relieved when Tsukishima awoke and showed no signs of internal brain damage. His leg, however, was another concern, as he was going to have to stay off his left foot and rest it as much as he can before returning in about 7 weeks for a check-up.

Tsukishima sighed, raising his hand up to take off his glasses and massage his forehead. Ever since the accident, the first year had to revert back to using his glasses he wore as a child while he waited for a new pair to come in. His old glasses were small and more square than he was used to but since his eyesight had gotten worse slightly overtime, the glasses only helped to a moderate degree.

A voice spoke from the aisleway which caused Tsukishima to place his glasses back on his face and look up at the person, “Hey…”. Kuroo stood there in the aisleway with a black suit and white tie, a program in his hand. The third year captain looked grave and sincere as he gestured to the seat next to the blonde. “May I?” he asked as Tsukishima nodded and sat up more, the sudden movement on his numb leg caused the boy to wince.

“Tch,” the boy grunted as Kuroo simply signaled with his hands that he could easily walk over to the other side for Tsukishima’s convenience. The first year thanked him by nodding his head and waited for Kuroo to take his seat beside him.

“So…” Kuroo began not knowing how in the world he would start a conversation with the boy so he went with the standard, “How are you feeling?”

“What do _you_ think?” Tsukishima said with a half lidded glare making Kuroo feel like he’d just asked the stupidest question in the world. After Tsukishima said this he sighed and continued with a less sarcastic tone, “It hurts”.

Kuroo glanced over at him and agreed, “Looks like it, how’s everyone else doing?” The captain asked as Tsukishima exhaled loudly feeling a pain rise in his shin as he reached down and held onto his knee.

“Pretty crappy I guess, Hinata’s still in some weird ass coma, and Yamaguchi’s still in the hospital. The doctors say that Yamaguchi should be able to get out tomorrow but will be confined to a wheelchair for at least a couple months so his body can heal. Honestly though…” The first year paused and returned his arms back to where they were resting previously before finishing his sentence, “I’m just glad he’s alive”. He concluded as Kuroo smiled and ran a hand through his hair. Knowing that the two of them were close and had been friends since childhood, made him think of his and Kenma’s relationship.

“I know how you feel,” Kuroo said, thinking about what he would do if Kenma died. “You and Yamaguchi are close, just like Kenma and I. I’m just glad that you made it out, and Suga and everyone that’s here right now,” Kuroo said as he glanced over in Kenma’s direction, Tsukishima following his gaze. Kenma sat alone in the middle row of the hall looking down at his phone then back up at the stage. “Kenma has been worried sick about you guys, hell, we all have. You guys gave us a big scare there, buddy,” Kuroo announced as Tsukishima’s eyes glanced back at the third year.

“Why? I mean I know it’s natural for human beings to be scared but you don’t even go to our school? Why care so much? I mean we never even talked outside of volleyball practices and we’re not really the best of friends...” Tsukishima asked as Kuroo chuckled and stood up.

“Does there need to be a reason, Tsukki? We are here to support you guys and of course we’re sad too…” Kuroo began as Tsukishima eyed him in a slightly irritated manor. “I told you before Tsukki, I’ve always been a nice person.”  

“Can you please stop calling me ‘Tsukki’?” Tsukishima started as Kuroo glanced his way and made a little pouty face. “But, I guess you’re right. So, thanks, I guess.” The first year said. Kuroo knew based on his reaction and inflection that the boy wanted to be alone now and took that as his cue to leave.

Over near the front of the stage, near the frames of deceased members, Tanaka stood with crutches under each arm. Yamamoto, from Nekoma, spotted him and he walked over to check up on his friend.

“Hey Tanaka!” Yamamoto waved getting the attention of the second year. Tanaka looked sickly pale and nothing like himself as he stood leaning against his crutches, lost in thought.

“Hey…” he sniffled, eyes glancing from the stage to Yamamoto then back up to the stage. “Have you had a chance you pay your respects yet?” Tanaka questioned as the Nekoma wing spiker shook his head in response.

“Not yet” he clarified as Tanaka actually huffed out in relief.

“Good, do you think you could help me up the stairs then? It’s hard to carry crutches and hop up four stairs at the same time.” The second year asked with a somewhat apologetic voice as Yamamoto assured him that it was not a problem. Once up the stairs on the left side of the gymnasium, Tanaka hobbled his way over to the first portrait, this one being his best friend Nishinoya.

Each section along the table featured a collection of flowers and artifacts relating to each of the deceased. For Noya, there were flowers and candles alike but also Noya’s favorite picture, framed and sitting up next to his portrait. The picture consisted of a hot summer day at the ocean a while ago. Noya was spraying Asahi with a water gun while laughing and behind him Kinoshita and Narita were in the process of dropping a bucket of water over Noya’s head. You could see Tanaka in the bottom left corner pointing at Asahi and laughing, not even knowing that in less than a second, Nishinoya’s once dry hair would become soaking wet. Daichi and Suga were asked to come along on trip as well and it was actually Suga that took the picture. It was a priceless picture, one that brought back too many memories as Tanaka started tearing up remembering that day like it was yesterday.

Noya’s parents, Nao and Mayumi stood weeping into each other’s arms. Tanaka wanted to say his condolences, wanted to say something at all but when he thought about what he’d say to his second mom and dad, he came up blank. Tanaka was used to hanging out at Noya’s house and had become practically family with the three of them. Since Tanaka had lost his parents so young he never had a mom and dad to look up to, just his big sis and grandmother. These two were his family, no way around that, but right now they looked to need space and Tanaka didn’t want to interrupt and decided to leave.

He stopped though when Mayumi called out his name through tears in her eyes. “Ryu?” She questioned as Tanaka turned around and tried his best to form a smile for them. Nao sat talking to Yamamoto about something as Nishinoya’s mother came over to Tanaka.

“Hey…” He replied as Mayumi opened her arms wide and welcomed him into a hug. The embrace was warm and soothing as Mayumi’s body lightly shook.

“I’m glad that you came out safe at least, Yu would be devastated if you were gone. Please, stay safe.” Mayumi told him as Yamamoto finished up talking with Nishinoya’s father and came over to Tanaka.

The stage was lined with people, making it a little harder to move for someone like Tanaka. Most of them were family’s placing flowers down and others talking to the parents of the deceased. Manabu, along with his wife Ryoko, daughter Saki, and his son Asahi were standing up on the stage in front of Daichi’s picture. Asahi’s eyes trailing down to the small picture in front of the memorial portrait, a small picture consisting of the third years, Suga, Asahi, and Daichi all smiling and goofing off. Asahi tore his eyes away from the picture when Tanaka showed up.

“Hey Asahi…” Tanaka announced hobbling over and glancing down and where Asahi was looking previously. Daichi and Tanaka have always been close but Asahi, Suga, and Kiyoko knew him longer and shared many more memories with the third year than Tanaka himself. Still though, Tanaka respected the captain and looked up to him with one of the highest degrees. Without this hard work and determination Karasuno never would have been reborn. If Daichi never took that first step to wanting to better his team, then Karasuno never would have gotten as far as it did. Daichi was always a natural born leader, the kind that makes you want to follow him no matter what, and that’s what Tanaka admired most about him. That’s not to say that Asahi and Suga weren’t a big help as well in formulating a working system.

Asahi looked down at Tanaka with sorrow and for a while there was an akward silence. As if Asahi wanted to say something but instead just opened and closed his mouth. Calling it futile the third year turned to leave but stopped himself before replying, “Hey… um... How’s the leg healing?” Tanaka knew that this was akward for both of them but he was glad that Asahi was at least talking to him, so he looked down at his leg and grunted, “Well… I’ve been better… I hear you tore your muscle too? It still hurt?” Tanaka commentated as Yamamoto lightly tapped Tanaka on the shoulder and told him that he was going to continue on the other memorials and give Tanaka some time to catch up.

“Yeah…” Asahi began feeling a slight sting in his right shoulder. “Hard to sleep at night” he finished, eyes slowly glancing back over at Daichi’s picture. Tanaka knew just by being there that Asahi was not in the mood to talk at the moment so after about a minute or two of trying to catch up, Tanaka made his way over to the next group. Leaving Asahi to his thoughts. 

Next was Kiyoko, the love of his life, or so he thought. Kiyoko, according to Tanaka, was the prime definition of beauty and grace, but gone way too soon. Everything, all that she was, was gone in an instant. It was a shame really, she had such high hopes for the future, got good grades, and was even discussing about what college she wanted to go to. Tanaka walked over and paid his respects for the Shimizu’s but couldn’t bear to spend another minute staring at her beautiful face.

After Kiyoko, Tanaka ran into Yachi who just so happened to be glancing at a picture of Narita. Yachi noticed Tanaka’s presence and welcomed him with a smile. The second year tried to force a little smile back but found it hard to do so in these circumstances. He looked over at Narita and remembered the time that the boy got a haircut to match Tanaka’s. Tanaka had Seiko shave his head before the start of school a while back and Narita liked the idea so asked Tanaka if his sister could give him a haircut. His hair wasn’t long or anything to begin with but it was long enough that his father asked him if he was going to get it cut anytime soon. The 5 of them, Noya, Kinoshita, Narita, Ennoshita, and himself, always hung out together, so for three of them to just not be here anymore was like a sledgehammer slamming into his heart and crumbling it to pieces. He was trying to find the pieces again, was trying to put them all back together, but no matter how hard he tried they just didn’t seem to glue back into place. He saw Takahiro, Narita’s younger brother, slouching in a chair between his parents crying, head resting on his father’s chest as his father lightly stroked his hair and his mother blew into a tissue.

“You know… I was the one that found Narita” Yachi said snapping Tanaka out of his personal thoughts and back into reality.

“Really?” The second year addressed feeling awful for this young girl to have to witness that.

Yachi took a deep breath and looked straight at Tanaka. “I was with Daichi first… But when he asked me to go find help I saw somebody under the bus. It was Narita…” Yachi began as Tanaka stared in curiosity and dread. Tanaka never really asked Yachi about how she fared during the accident. “Ukai and Kinoshita came running from around the bus to help. Ukai was carrying Hinata and left him with me while they tried to help. Apparently, it was too late. Kinoshita sat by his side and talked to Narita the whole time until he… He was gone. It was… I mean I guess it was a peaceful way to go?" Yachi finished as she sniffled and gave Tanaka a quick hug. “I’m so sorry Tanaka.” The second year remained speechless as Yachi hugged him, taking in all of the information. Eventually the two of them went over and visited the next portrait, this one being Kinoshita.

“Hey Yachi…?” Tanaka questioned as the short girl looked up at him with a look of curiosity. “Whatever happened to Kinoshita? They told me he died but I… Do you know how?” Tanaka asked as the girl shook her head.

“I-” The girl started as Tanaka realized that this was probably not the best time to ask this, but before he could say anything against it Yachi continued. “I don’t really know for certain because most of the night he seemed fine, but he was acting a little weird, coughibg and stuff. I heard that it was something with his stomach but I don’t know if that’s exactly true or not. I thibk Ukai might have figured it out but he-" she stopped herself mid-sentance and tears formed in her eyes, but she fought them back and just apologized, putting her hand up to her head. “I was kind of out of it when this all happened. I heard Ukai yell at him to see if he was okay but… I just- I don’t know what happened- and now Ukai's-" Yachi stumbled on her words as Tanaka just nodded in approval.

“It’s okay Yachi, you can stop. Thanks.” Tanaka murmured as he glanced over to the next memorial and looked at Ukai’s face. He knew that Ukai was just trying to help, they all knew that, but I guess it was just too much for the man to handle. Tanaka was angry at him in reality but kept his anger at bay during the memorial so to not disrespect anyone. Next to his picture someone sat down a pack of his favorite cigarettes, probably Makoto Shimada or Yusuke Takinoue from Ukai’s Neighborhood association team. Speaking of which, both men were standing up by Ukai’s portrait, Shimada crying while the other one was behind. Yusuke looking out over the stage of the auditorium, staring blankly at the crowd of people now starting to fill the seats for the memorial serial. Yusuke glanced down at his watch seeing now that it was 1:55pm, five more minutes until the service started. He glanced back over and saw Tanaka walking past on his crutches and went to say something but was stopped by Yachi and the two of them started a conversation.

Last was Takeda on the far right of the stage. There was an elderly woman sitting down in a chair next to the frame, and Tanaka guessed that it was probably his mother and he stopped momentarily and looked down at his picture with the candles burning next to it. It’s not your fault Sensei… Tanaka understood as he lightly bowed to the woman and made his way back over to the stairs, Yachi now joining him with getting down the steps.

Kageyama stood in the doorway of the room, just getting there with his mother Mia. Both running almost late as they stumbled into the front entrance. Mia noticed the programs over in the corner of the room by Yachi’s mother, Madoka and told her son that she’d get some programs and meet back up with him in just a minute. Kageyama nodded and stood in the doorway of the service room.

Suddenly a voice called his name and he turned around shocked as to whom it belonged to.

“Oikawa? Wha- What are you and Iwazumi doing here?!” Kageyama questioned as he looked at his mentors from middle school. Oikawa wearing a black tux and light blue tie and Iwazumi wearing a nice black dress shirt and dress pants, with a tanish black striped tie.

“Even though you piss me off and I’m still mad you beat us-“ Oikawa began making Kageyama question where this conversation really was going. “Iwazumi and I wanted to come tell you and your team personally how sorry we are.” Oikawa replied as he looked down at the ground and said his apologies.

“Yeah, we’re really sorry about what happened, Kageyama. I couldn’t believe the news at first… You literally just beat us and it seemed like in a fraction of a second everything changed” Iwazumi said, placing a hand atop of Kageyama’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for the losses you and your team are dealing with right now, Kageyama. I really am.”

“Thanks,” Kageyama understood as the two men walked past him and into the auditorium, eventually followed by Kageyama and his mother.

The service lasted a little under two hours long and was quite possibly the most depressing ceremony that anyone in the audience had ever witnessed. Each of the seven victims had a small section dedicated to them with family members or close friends sharing great stories about their lives and the friends they’ve made, trips they’ve been on, and overall how each person lived their lives to the fullest. Most of the stories were shared by the parents themselves, but some were read off by close family friends. When Mayumi started the ceremony with teary eyes and her breath hitching in her chest, everyone in the audience were practically already in tears. The combination of the people sharing great adventures about their sons or daughters life, along with the light string instruments that continuously played in the background now, caused the perfect atmosphere of sad yet heavenly. Around 4 o’clock the ceremony ended and almost everyone walked out with tear stained faces or close to it. Friends waved goodbye to one another and parents hugged other parents each other them breaking away and going their separate directions. Kageyama looked up at the clock on the wall noticing the time and started heading out for the hospital but was stopped momentarily by Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kuroo.

“Wait a minute Kageyama” Kuroo yelled waving his hand above his head trying to get the first years attention. “Where are you going?”

 

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Kageyama traveled the same path to the local hospital as he had everyday since Hinata was transferred from the other location. The walk wasn’t the most tiring event, but its silence was mortifying. He had no means by which to distract his mind of the scarring memories of that night but every day he was getting better at dealing with and accepting the situation by constantly imagining the horrors from that day. It was difficult, both mentally and physically, to make the trek all the way to the hospital, but it was worth it. He didn’t mind the small suffering as long as when he reached the hospital his friend would still be there, unharmed. He was grateful and pleased with this walk in particular however, not only that Hinata was alive, but because this time his walk wasn’t that sombre. Along with Kageyama was Bokuto, Akaashi, Kenma, Kuroo, Lev, and Inouka, all of whom were worried about Hinata, even after Kageyama had reassured them that he was doing fine.

Kageyama didn’t know whether they all noticed his growing heavy heart at the thought that Hinata might never wake up, but whether or not they noticed wasn’t the point. He had finally some company on that hellish walk and couldn’t ask for more. They all knew they shouldn’t talk much about the accident and so refrained from asking any disturbingly sorrowful questions. They inquired mainly of how Kageyama was doing, what his plans were, how his rehabilitation was going, and whether or not he has heard about the others. Sometimes, to lighten the mood, they all talked about frivolous matters such as Akaashi’s favorite dish or Kuroo and Bokuto hair.

Once they reached the hospital, Nurse Akira, already familiar with Kageyama as he visits everyday, recognized the young boy and his friends and signed them all in as visitors and showed them to Hinata’s room. They all remained silent until they reached his room where they saw the orange-haired boy laying on the hospital bed as if he were sleeping and would wake up as soon as they entered the room.

He didn’t.

Kageyama stared down at Hinata’s unmoving body, wondering if he really was still alive, despite constantly hearing the heart monitor beside the boy beeping steadily. The sound of the machines, monitors and Hinata’s shallow breathing in the background sent waves of relief throughout not only his body but the others as well, assuring them all that he wasn’t dead.  He remembered the very first time he saw that goofy orange haired kid, full of determination and energy, and now here he was, just lying there, lifeless. Looking at short teenager before him, Kageyama recalled the image of Noya’s body bent and mutilated and he quickly turned his head away from Hinata and tried to shake that thought out of his mind. Ever since that night, he had not had a good night sleep, as the thoughts of his friend’s deaths kept him awake and alert, particularly the one he actually witnessed, the one that continues to haunt him.  Kageyama wished desperately that there was a way to stop the overflowing pain that lingered around him about that gruesome night, but knew that over time things would get better. _They have to_ , he hoped. However, he did not want to think about that right now, not when Hinata was still alive right in front of him. He turned his head back towards Hinata seeing that the boy’s body lay as still as could be, body deprived of any movement at all aside from a very slight rise and fall of his chest. Kageyama was used to this sight by now but the others seemed mortified that this happy and energetic young boy was now an inert shell of what he used to be.

Kenma stared, eyes sinking into the image of Hinata before his eyes, his thoughts weren’t on “if” he would wake up, it was what would happen “when” he did. He wondered if Hinata would ever move again, or wake up for that matter. And if he couldn’t, then how would he take the news? He had loved playing with Karasuno, their games were always filled with amazement and were never boring.

Eventually, Kenma turned to Kageyama as he pondered the situation, “Has there been any change in Shoyo’s condition?” Kenma asked, still glaring down at the young first year who was hooked up to a few different machines, one of which was an IV going into his arm. Hinata was always the fun and exciting one, he was the one person other than Kuroo that made Kenma want to play volleyball. He was that one person that you could always count on to show off some new trick every week, so for him to be bedridden and comatose, it just wasn’t something that should ever be.

“Not much sadly. I just got out of the hospital about 5 days ago but even then, before I left I visited him and he doesn’t look any different. I do sometimes see the nurse try and stretch his muscles a tad so the don’t go completely stiff… But even then it’s hard. Because Hinata broke his leg and he is in a coma, it was hard to stretch his muscles out in fear that they could strain it further.” Kageyama explained as Bokuto and Kuroo looked down at the little guy in awe, like a group of parents wanting to protect their child from harm. "Hey hey hey Hinata buddy, come on... I know you're in there. Wake up!" Bokuto said as he looked down at the sleeping teen. While this exchange was going on, Lev stood in the corner eyes wide with Shock while talking to Inuoka who leaned against the window. It was strange for Kageyama to see Bokuto so quiet, since he had only ever met the guy a few times during games or practices. Normally Bokuto was loud and rambunctious just like Hinata, so to see him so down to earth and calming was like seeing the complete opposite side of a coin.

Akaashi noticed Kageyama looking at Bokuto deep in thought and whispered, “Strange isn’t it.” Thus causing the first year setter to turn slightly with a questionable look on his face. Kageyama never really talked much to the setter from Fukurodani much but in the times he has talked to him, he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

“What is?” Kageyama asked back as Kenma, Kuroo, and Bokuto seemed to have started their own small conversation.

“Bokuto. I can see it on your face Kageyama. You’re thinking that it’s weird that Bokuto is so quiet aren’t you?” Akaashi stated as Kageyama stared in amazement that he could tell what he was thinking without ever voicing it. “Bokuto is normally loud I will give him that, but he’s also surprisingly considerate. He may not look it but once your friends with Bokuto he will not let you down. I think they…” Akaashi paused looking over at the two third year captains and the second year setter. The three of them did look a little different. These three, whether they admitted it or not must have been pretty close to Hinata. “I think they are all taking the news the best they can. And I as well. I am so sorry for everything you guys have gone through Kageyama, and we will pray for Hinata’s safe recovery. Please know that you are not alone.” Akaashi concluded with a tap on Kageyama’s good shoulder and walked over joining the others in their conversation.

The boys stayed there for about ninety minutes, conversing with each other and sharing stories both about themselves and concerning their experiences with Hinata. The group laughed together a little bit and even Kageyama was able to crack a smile once or twice, appreciative that he had some company to help drown out the usual silence of the situation. Eventually, the conversation between everyone started to diminish and Kenma and Kuroo both eventually got up to grab their coats that they had hung up over the course of the previous hour. “We probably should be going guys. We have to catch the train back to Tokyo and it’s already pretty late.” Kuroo chimed in after putting his arms through his jacket and wrapping his scarf back around his neck. Kenma took one last look at Shoyo as the boys walked out of the room, all except Kageyama.

Akaashi turned around to find Kageyama standing next to Hinata and stepped back in the room. “Kageyama, are you coming?” he asked but was met with silence. Akaashi walked close enough to lightly set his hand atop Kageyama’s shoulder, causing the young boy to jump slightly.

“Ah… Sorry Akaashi, um… I think I’m just going to stay a little bit longer-” Kageyama addressed but winced at the last part reaching up with his left hand and lightly gripping the material of his shirt under his sling. “Sorry... I’ll see you guys later okay? Have a safe journey home.” Akaashi nodded and turned to leave the room and meet up along with Kuroo, Kenma, Lev, Inouka, and Bokuto.

“Keep in touch with us okay? We’re all pretty concerned about you guys. I hope you know that.” Akaashi finished as Kageyama slowly nodded, causing the second year to smile and turn around, jogging to go meet up with Bokuto, who for some odd reason was almost all the way down the hall. _Didn’t he see that I wasn’t there?_ Akaashi thought as he finally caught up with his fellow teammate.

Kageyama took a deep breath and sat down in the chair next to Hinata’s bed. _Who knew today would be so exhausting?_ He sighed as he told Hinata about the memorial and how many people came.  “There were a lot of people asking about you, you know?” Kageyama mumbled still feeling the pain burning in his arm and wondering if maybe he should go back home and take some medicine. After a few moments of contemplating whether or not he should get some medicine for his arm, he decided that that would probably be the best idea, and stood up.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, dumbass. And every day for that matter until you wake up up, dammit.” Kageyama sighed. Normally he liked to pester the kid because Hinata was just such an easy target but now, he felt like there was no need for his snarky comments, there was no need to be mean and annoy someone who wouldn’t answer back. The first year setter got up and grabbed his coat off coat rack in the corner of the room and sluggishly headed out the door.

Kageyama was nearly out the doors of the hospital when he heard the squeaking of shoes running towards the hallway he just left. Starting to get worried, Kageyama watched as a doctor and 2 nurses, one of them being nurse Akira, run hurriedly around a corner down the hall. Kageyama watched the doctor and nurses as he repeated to himself, _Will they turn right? Why do they look so scared? Oh no, what if something happened to Hinata!_ Kageyama thought as his feet started moving on their own back down the hallway towards Hinata’s room. _Don’t turn right. Please don’t turn right to that dumbass Hinata._ Kageyama feared as they turned right and rushed into Hinata’s room. Kageyama felt his heartbeat rise and fall quickly it was a weird feeling, it was like he was scared to see if something bad happened but he was happy that something _was_ happening.

Kageyama rushed back to Hinata’s room wondering if the time had finally come. Kageyama was filled with excitement that Hinata might finally wake up but also felt a sense of dread that his friend might be dead. As he made his way down the hallway, Kageyama could not understand the weighing feeling of fear that was creeping up on his spine. He finally reached Hinata’s room and his fears were materialized as he saw Hinata on the bed convulsing viloently. His legs and arms uncontrollably twitched, and his head shook aggressively. Kageyama stared in confusion and began to feel tears swelling up. _No…_ Kageyama prayed as he saw the glimpse of his friend in this state. Seeing Hinata before he seemed somewhat at peace, but now in this moment Kageyama was terrified that he might never get to speak to his friend ever again. _Don’t do this. We still have to go to nationals and beat those assholes at Shiratorizawa! You can’t do this to me!_

Kageyama saw nurse Akira and wanted to ask her what was wrong with him but as soon as the nurse saw him she quickly interrupted any questions that Kageyama could have had.

“You shouldn’t be here! You need to leave right now, I can’t allow you to see him.” The nurse yelled as Kageyama saw Hinata’s body jerking and white foam seemed to be coming out his mouth. The poor boy looked to be having some sort of seizure while the doctors all gathered around him and turned him on his side. The doctors and the nurses began to hold down Hinata’s limbs, preventing him from hurting himself or biting his own tongue as they administered an injection into his thigh. The nurse felt bad for raising her voice but she needed the boy to leave, he was in their way and there was nothing he could do at the moment.

“Hinata?” Kageyama questioned as he was left standing alone by the door. After a second of staring dead eyed down the hall, Kageyama finally regained sensation in his legs as he slowly walked back towards the lobby in shock. He stopped once arriving and took a seat in a yellow chair near the window. The area was relatively full of other family members and patients but Kageyama barely noticed anyone was there, despite the loud volume in the room. As he sat in the chair still wide-eyed and afraid of what just transpired, he awaited news as to what happened to Hinata, praying to any power he could think of that his friend would come out of these tribulations unscathed. 

 


	12. Chapter 12 (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Rob for helping me write and edit this story, also thank you to Heather and Sonja for helping me write as well. You guys are great editors. I also want to say I am SOOOO sorry for this being so late but trust me when i say this chapter was freaking long!! It's about 120 pages… I didn't want to put the epilogue in another chapter because 10 is a nice round number but in the end i guess it didn't matter since i split up the chapters anyway lol. Oh well, I made it worth your wait. So now, without any further adieu begin your reading and when you get to the end you will see some very interesting author notes and i did in fact make a Tumblr for this where I will add pictures. Please comment!! I love reading them!!!! It's sad that this is the end... I've been writing this for two years.
> 
> P.s. this chapter will be under construction next week Dec.5-11, 2016 for some fix up's and rewriting some bad parts that rush by/go too quickly.

Chapter 12

Four chimes rang out softly throughout the Karasuno campus, signifying the midday break for lunch had begun. As some students moved their materials to the side of their desk to make room for their packed lunches and others quickly left the room to meet with friends, Suga gathered his books together, calmly slung his brown bag over his shoulder and departed the room. As he left, Suga could tell that the instructor, as well as a few students, were watching him silently, despite their efforts to mask their observing. Suga did not react to the obvious stares and simply started walking down the hallway, passing by several open classrooms and groups of chatting students. Sun shined through the windows of the hallway, reflecting off the polished floor of Karasuno’s hallways like it was recently cleaned and waxed. Suga could hear students outside through the open windows, laughing together and enjoying the consistently bright and shining day while they could between classes. As he moved through the hallway, Suga kept his head straight, looking directly down the hallway while preventing himself from glancing over at the students he passed that were also trying to avert their own gazes from him. This was actually rather simple to do, since everyone seemed to give Suga his own radius of space, a fact of which Suga was also well aware.

It has been a little over two months now since the Karasuno Crash, as many news outlets had come to refer to the incident on the mountain. Suga’s wounds had mostly healed by this point, his broken nose setting after only a couple weeks and his broken shoulder healing after six weeks, although it was still sore if he overexerted himself. Initially, everyone in the school was very supportive of him and the other surviving volleyball members but after about a month, the students in the school slowly began avoiding them. To an extent, Suga understood their reasoning. _‘What_ would _you even say to someone who went through something like that?’_ he would think, rationalizing this isolation the remaining team members started to experience at school. There were still some exceptions, like Yui Michimiya, who would make a point to check in with a few of the members despite her own sorrow over Daichi’s passing, but most did not have the same initiative. Now that this treatment had persisted for a some time, Suga had come to accept it somewhat, and just through school day by day the best he could.

After passing by several classrooms and taking the stairs down to the first floor, Suga arrived at his destination; a classroom with an open door and about eight or nine students still inside. He walked inside and scanned the room quickly for the person he came to see, who was sitting a few seats from the back of the room near the window. This was a classroom for second-years at Karasuno, including the wing-spiker Ryūnosuke Tanaka. After stiffening his lower lip and taking a breath, Suga calmly walked over to the open window next to Tanaka’s desk and laid his bag on the floor. He folded his arms and leaned them against the windowsill as he stared out at the Karasuno gymnasium, which this classroom faced. “Are you coming tomorrow?” Suga finally said while still looking at the building he has yet to set foot in for two months.

“Not sure,” Tanaka said dismissively as he continued to unpack his home-packed meal, “Still thinking about it.” Tanaka had changed significantly since the crash, becoming distant from most of the surviving members of the team, aside from Ennoshita and Suga, and developing a more reserved persona. The fire that used to burn vibrantly inside of him had been snuffed out and, strangely, Tanaka had turned to his studies to distract himself from what he had been feeling and experiencing. Though he still did not perform very well, the second-year had discovered that focusing his mind on his classes prevented himself from focusing on the grisly scene he witnessed on the mountain. Although it had become obvious to Suga that this was Tanaka’s method of grieving, the third year was still unsure if Tanaka was even aware of his own drastic personality shift. “We’ll see,” Tanaka added as he unwrapped his utensils.

Suga sighed and looked down at the green bush below the window, “You said that yesterday, Tanaka.” Other students had stopped talking when Suga walked into the room and started talking to Tanaka but the noise had resumed at this point, although their conversations had become hushed whispers that neither Suga nor Tanaka could hear.

“Yeah, well,” Tanka started, pausing only to take a bite from the chicken and rice in his meal, “Nothing’s changed since yesterday.” Tanaka also was not looking at Suga yet and instead opted to stare forward at the board in the front of the class, on which the teacher left a few notes concerning the lecture that he just went through.

Suga turned around and leaned his back against the windowsill in order to face the second year. Unlike most of the other members who had incurred broken limbs and had them heal within the previous two months, Tanaka ended up tearing his ACL in his leg and was not expected to make a full recovery for a full four or five months at the earliest. Because of this, Tanaka still required crutches as well as a cast, the former of which was on the ground parallel to his desk with two small towels laying on top of them which Tanaka used to cushion the crutches underneath his arms when he used them. “You really should come,” Suga insisted, folding his arms again and crossing them in front of his torso, “When is the last time you even talked to the others?”

"I saw Ennoshita yesterday," Tanaka declared nonchalantly, brushing the senior's question off to the side.

Suga stared directly at Tanaka, irritated by the response he was given. Suga was well aware that Tanaka communicated with Ennoshita as well, as the three of them all ate lunch together the previous day. "That's not what I meant," he responded in a stern tone, "You really need to come tomo-"

The second year struck the top of his desk lightly with his open hand to interrupt and stop Suga from continuing. “Look, i’ll see if I can, alright?” Tanaka fired back with a more irritated tone, “Just stop asking me over and over.”

Suga had been talking with Tanaka almost every day since the incident. There would be days that Tanaka would talk at length and others that he would only say a few words, though lately he had been speaking more and more with both Suga and Ennoshita, indicating that he had started mentally healing, if ever so slightly. A silence came over the two of them for a moment before Suga replied, “Alright, fine.” He picked his bag up, understanding that Tanaka wanted to be left alone right now, and started to head toward the door after patting his friend’s shoulder and remarking, "Remember: 6 o'clock."

Before taking even three steps from Tanaka, Suga was hailed by the second year. "Hey... Suga..." Tanaka started, turning his head a touch in Suga's direction. He had tried not to think about everything that had happened during and since the crash but there was one burning question on Tanaka's mind that he needed to ask Suga. The third year stopped and silently turned toward the second year, awaiting the rest of the question, though he had an inkling what it may be concerning. Tanaka continued once Suga stopped and turned, flatly asking, "Do you think Asahi's coming?"

"Yeah," the setter replied directly, "I think I finally talked him into it. I'll see if I can get in to see him later today." With that response, Suga quickly turned away and left the room, not wanting to discuss the matter of Asahi further.

Of all of the survivors, the only two to not return to school after the accident were Hinata, due to his continued coma-state, and Asahi. After the accident, Asahi stayed in the hospital for a few days, denying all visitors aside from his parents, before being released to his parents and instructed to see a professional psychiatrist. Similar to Tanaka, the third year had a torn muscle, but in his upper back instead of his leg. This means that, unlike many of the survivors who had broken legs or other extremities that were healing relatively fast, Asahi was not expected to recover for well over 6 months, possibly even reaching as far as a full year. His right arm was nearly unusable at this point and was instructed to keep it protected in a sling or a cast and to try and prevent himself from overexerting himself further with that side of his body to prevent further damage or slow the healing process.

As prescribed by his new psychiatrist and with special permission from the school board of administrators, Asahi was pulled out of school by his parents not a week after the incident due to an extreme combination of physical and emotional trauma. The Azumanes struck a deal with the school system, who agreed to allow Asahi to finish up his remaining coursework during the summer remedial courses. Furthermore, Asahi locked himself up inside of his house in a state of self-incarceration away from everyone else, rarely ever leaving his home and rejecting all who came to console him. The only exception to this exclusion was the only other remaining third year from the team, Suga. The Azumane family quickly became accustomed to the sight of Suga, who visited almost daily after school, and even went so far to give him a copy of the house key, basically treating Suga as a part of the family due to his persistence in trying to get Asahi back on his feet.

Suga’s plan for the upcoming day was to attempt to gather all of the survivors back together again for a meeting or a discussion, something similar to a support group. No one on the team had played volleyball since that horrific day and most of the players, Suga included, silently agreed on disbanding the team, at least for the time being. Therefore, his intentions are not to get the team back together again, but to assess everyone’s current emotional states and to remind everyone that they were all in this situation together. Almost everyone Suga talked to agreed on meeting together once again in the gymnasium despite some initial resistance or uneasiness from some like Tanaka. However, Asahi remained silent every time Suga brought it up to him, except for the last time they spoke.

Suga brought up the meeting place before leaving Asahi’s house the day prior, expecting the usual blank response but unusually Asahi answered with a simple, “I know.” Suga was taken aback by this but did not want to press it further, knowing how fragile of a state Asahi was in at this point. In fact, during several of their meetings, the two never spoke aside from a greeting and a farewell. This would typically happen when Suga brought his friend a new book from the library to read, which Asahi would accept and begin silently reading immediately, prompting Suga to work on his own homework during the silence. Suga was unsure if this was a healthy situation or not but Asahi always seemed appreciative of the books, despite never asking Suga to bring him anything.

When Suga left Tanaka’s classroom, he looked up and down the hallway, noticing that a few sophomores had purposely made way for him so that he could leave unobstructed, and made his way over to the gym. Though it had been two months since the incident, no one from the team had entered the gym, at least as far as Suga was aware. Even Suga did not want to walk in just yet, dreading what memories would resurface if he were to do so, though he was well aware taking the simple step back onto the polished wood floor would be good for facing and accepting what had happened. It was for this reason that he scheduled the meeting to be held at the gymnasium itself, which was one of the main concerns for most of the other team members.

To psych himself up for going back inside, he had been spending the last couple weeks eating his lunches on the steps in front of the gymnasium door. As usual, no one else was in the immediate area and Suga was able to eat in solitude, which he actually came to grow accustomed to over time. As he unpacked his food, Suga observed the windows of the main school building in front of him, all of which were too glared by sunlight to see through. On the days that the clouds covered over the sun, Suga could usually see through the windows and watch students gleefully stroll through the halls during the break or lean against the windows with their backs as they talked to their friends. Occasionally, he would see people looking down at him, or perhaps simply looking out the window at the school grounds, he was never completely sure in most cases. However, there were instances where he would see Tsukishima on the other side of the window, staring at the gymnasium with his typical deadpan expression. As per usual, the first year was always seen alongside Yamaguchi, particularly since both were still recovering from some of the worst injuries inflicted. Furthermore, with Tsukishima’s injury making a rather rapid recovery, he was recently taken off of his prescribed crutches and given a walking cast, allowing him to help Yamaguchi get around, as the latter was still restricted to a wheelchair.

Suga shivered slightly as he sat on the cold stone steps, reaching for a thermos he had to take a drink of hot tea he had inside. Being in the middle of December now, snow had covered the surrounding area, the walkway up to the gym and the stairs being spared due to the roof that protected the walkway. Though it was cold, Suga persevered and continued to eat, he noticed someone opening the door of the school into the courtyard. To his surprise, the person closed the door and approached him directly and it was not long until Suga to identify the figure as Ennoshita, the only other remaining second year. Ennoshita walked up to the third year with his hands buried in his pockets and not carrying anything, not even his bag or a container for food.

“Hey, Suga” Ennoshita waved with his right hand as he approached, stepping carefully down the roofed walkway in case layers of unseen ice had coated the pavement. He was wearing the standard winter garb for students at Karasuno which consisted of matching black pants and coat, the latter with five buttons going up the front of his chest. Suga wore the same thing but had a light blue scarf going around his neck whereas Ennoshita was wearing a dark green beanie which was pulled down enough to cover all but the bottom of his ears. Though still sore, Ennoshita’s wrist and fingers, now buried deep in his pockets after the short wave, had almost fully recovered to the point that he could use it as normal, though his physicians suggested he continue to refrain from athletic activity. Likewise, his right leg had also recovered, though a slight limp remained in his step as he adjusted to life without a cast again.

Suga returned the greeting in kind, putting his food down and waving to his friend while covering his mouth with the other hand, “Hey man, did you already eat?” Suga noticed the fact that Ennoshita was without a bag of any kind, a strange occurance as they typically eat together at least once a week, sometimes on the steps of the gym. Ennoshita understood Suga’s rationale for wanting to eat there and therefore never questioned Suga’s choice of dining locations.

“Yeah, I only had a little bit of soup,” Ennoshita responded, reaching Suga’s location. He turned around and plopped down next to Suga onto the step as he exhaled, “Ahhhh…” Once down, he stretched his right leg out onto the pavement in front of him, holding onto his bent left leg to keep balance. This was fairly normal for the second year, as the most painful area left in his leg was the stress movement put on his knee, so stretching his leg relieved the tight muscles well.  Ennoshita then wrapped his arms around his own body and shivered, looking at the condensation of his breath accumulate in front of him, “It’s getting colder by the day it seems.”

After taking another bite of chicken, Suga answered, “Yeah a bit.” He looked around at the perfect layer of snow on the normally green grass and continued, “I don’t really mind that much, though. The fresh air is still nice.” Strangely enough, winter was always one of Suga’s favorite seasons, tied with Summer. He always enjoyed the warmth that summer brought and the sunny skies but he also tended to enjoy how visually pleasing a fresh coat of winter snow was to behold, as well as the slight sting the cold air applied to the skin.

“You have a point there,” Ennoshita replied, leaning back with his hands behind his head so he lay flush against the concrete of the step they sat upon. “I saw you leave my class earlier,” he started, still looking directly up at the roof of the walkway, “Did you see Tanaka?”

After chewing and swallowing the final piece of chicken he had left, Suga simply replied, “Yep.” He opened up his thermos and took another sip from his hot tea, a much larger one now, almost emptying the container itself.

“He hasn’t been in the best of moods today,” Ennoshita explained, as he shares the classroom with Tanaka and also sits next to him “So he probably wasn’t the easiest to talk to.” As the only second years remaining, Ennoshita and Tanaka became even closer friends than before, each relying on the other for support, although in most instances it was Ennoshita consoling Tanaka rather than the other way around. Similar to Asahi, Tanaka was one of the most mentally scarred of the survivors, completely changing his personality but having the reliable Ennoshita to lean upon.

Suga started to pack up the remains of his lunch, realizing that it was nearing the end of the lunch period and he should return to his classroom in a few minutes. As he cleaned up, he explained to Ennoshita of the encounter with Tanaka, describing how he acted and the question regarding Asahi. “I think he will come though,” he said after placing everything back into his brown bag, “Tanaka, I mean. Still not exactly sure about Asahi but I feel like he’ll finally come out to see everyone.” He stood up and took a deep breath of the cold air before turning back to the second year and offering his hand to help him up, “You’re still coming right?”

“Of course,” Ennoshita quickly replied while taking Suga’s offer of assistance and raising to his feet, “You know I wouldn’t miss it, and I’ll make sure Tanaka is there too.” The idea to have the entire intervention or meeting between all the surviving members was actually the brainchild of both Ennoshita and Suga, though the latter was the one to advertise it to everyone else, as they both figured that Suga’s senior authority would more likely prompt everyone to comply and meet. Ennoshita wiped a little snow off of the elbow of his coat and the two looked back at the doors of the gym together, thinking about what everyone’s reactions would be to actually stepping foot inside that once-beloved location. “It’s not going to be the same,” Ennoshita said out loud, partially on accident.

“No,” Suga softly said back, his gaze locked on the handle of the door, still preparing himself for having to eventually open it once more, “No it won’t. But we can still help them. Asahi and I will be leaving soon but you guys still have a while at this school to go,especially the first-years.” Suga glanced back up at the window where he saw Tsukishima previously, although the blonde had since walked away, presumably to his own classroom with Yamaguchi.

As the two walked away together, Suga started to think more about what he had just said to Ennoshita and what that will mean for everyone else. Sighing, he pulled one hand out of his pockets and tapped Ennoshita lightly on the shoulder, “Hey. When we’re gone, Me and Asahi I mean… Keep an eye on them for me, okay?” He knew that it was a big responsibility to ask of Ennoshita, but considering Tanaka’s emotional state at the moment, Ennoshita would be the most likely prospect for this kind of issue.

Ennoshita didn’t break a step, assuming he would take the role of mentor or advisor anyway upon becoming a senior in a few months, “Don’t worry Suga, just give them time. They’ll recover.” He was very optimistic about how everyone would progress after the accident, despite struggling himself with the loss of his best friends. His philosophy of life had shifted slightly upon realizing that if he did not remain strong, at least outwardly, then no one would be able to rely on him or for help or consul. “In the meantime, I’ll keep track of everyone, don’t worry at all.”

“Thanks, Ennoshita,” Suga replied, relieved that he would take this job so easily and without opposition. With that, the two parted ways, Suga returning to his classroom on the second floor and Ennoshita to his room with Tanaka on the first.

The rest of the day went as any other for the rest of the team. Each attended their classes, aside from Asahi, and left the school once released, each returning to their own respective homes. Suga normally would refrain from visiting Asahi too often in order to allow him space and even though he had visited his friend each of the past three days, he was tempted to do so once again. Asahi never gave the full confirmation that Suga wanted or hoped for concerning the meeting, hardly dignifying Suga’s inquiry with any kind of response at all. With the proposed day upon them, Suga considered visiting to advocate the get-together once again but decided to call ahead just in case. When the phone was answered by Asahi’s mother, Ryoko, Suga asked if it was acceptable to stop by and visit his friend for a couple hours, but was dismayed when she reported that Asahi’s decision to this was a shake of the head. This did not surprise Suga much, as he had been denied before in this way when visiting too often, and decided to simply leave a reminder message with Asahi’s mother before conceding and hanging up the phone.

Suga awoke the next morning to another white winter day, the cold of the fading night having frosted the window of his bedroom. He sat up on his bed and looked out the window, seeing a few cars travel up and down the road outside, business as usual for the majority of the town. He brought his hand up and placed it upon the window to clear away some of the moisture in order to see more clearly and felt the sting of the cold weather bite his hand back in response. Though he expected this response, he was still surprised and taken aback, perhaps due to the early morning grogginess that still affected him.

After getting dressed and wishing his mother well for her own busy day ahead, Suga grabbed his brown bag and slung it over his shoulder in order to depart for school. The strap dug into his skin ever so slightly due to the amount of books and other various school supplies he had in the satchel, but less than it did before the accident. Though the bag and most of Suga’s belongings were recovered, as were a majority of the belongings for the rest of the team, the strap on his bag caught a tree branch or a sharp rock and was ripped beyond repair. His parents helped him get a new one with an attached cushion on it to lessen the effect of the weight. Although he appreciated the thought and the convenience, he moved the cushion back down toward the end of the strap so to allow the weight of the bag to apply more pressure to his skin. Suga did not do this subconsciously, he simply preferred the feeling his original strap would provide, a small sense of nostalgia to which he continued to cling.

Snow continued to pile on to the ground as the third year made his way to Karasuno High School, many calling this one of the worst winters this region has ever seen. Slowly and carefully, he finally arrived at the school around the same time as many other students, all quickly seeking shelter inside of the building rather than loitering outside the front entrance. The school day proceeded as usual, Suga attending all of his classes and preparing for the upcoming final examinations in each. When the time for lunch rolled around, he opted to stay inside for the first time in quite a while due to the sharp temperature drop, this day being more than 10 degrees celsius lower than the day prior due to the lack of sun and increased levels of snow. Staying in his classroom, the third year ate alone, assuming that his usual lunch compatriot Ennoshita was with Tanaka in his own classroom while Suga munched on food and looked over reference materials for one of his classes. Once the school day ended and everyone returned home, Suga waited for the appropriate time before departing once more for the Karasuno Gymnasium.

The meeting was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. to give enough time for everyone to return home, eat, and finish any small chores or errands. Originally Suga wanted to have the meeting immediately after school concluded, but Ennoshita convinced him to push the time later for the aforementioned reasons. However, by the time Suga left his house, about twenty minutes until 6:00 p.m., the sun had already begun to set, creating a golden glow emanating from the horizon. This was the first time the entire day that Suga saw the sun as the whole sky had been covered with snow clouds since the morning. As such, the snow on the ground had increased significantly since this morning, fully burying Suga’s feet as he trudged onward toward the school.

As Suga rounded a corner, he looked up the last street that led up to the school which was one of the steeper hills in the town, and let out a long sigh of exhaustion. He worried about how the others, particularly Yamaguchi, Tanaka, and Tsukishima, would manage to make it to the gymnasium in their condition but knew that their family members would likely give them a ride. This thought brought more doubt to Suga’s mind, however, as he started to seriously consider the situation where he walks into an empty gymnasium, nobody showing up besides himself and possibly Ennoshita. It was a scenario he tried his best to ignore but with the weather being as bad as it was, he worried that it may be preferable to postpone the meeting instead. Suga battled with this proposition, worrying even further that were he to postpone the meeting, nobody would agree to a second one. He shook his head and quickly dashed these “What if” situations from his mind and began the trek up the final street, resolving to wait to see who in fact would show up.

Many of the shops on this road were closed or were starting to close for the night, as most halted business in the winter months once the sun set. One shop in particular on the street had been closed indefinitely, however, and had not opened its doors for a few months. As Suga passed by this building, he stopped and turned to look at it, thinking about the days when the lights inside were on and the door was open to welcome customers. This was the shop that was passed on to their former coach, Keishin Ukai, from his mother when she passed away. It is also the location where Ukai committed suicide, since he lived in the two floors above the convenience store. The Sakanoshita Store had been closed ever since, the windows and doors still nailed up and sealed as they had been not long after Ukai’s father, Ikkei, emptied the contents of the building and moved away.

Suga looked up at the window at the top of the building facing the street, the one for Ukai’s bedroom, and remembered the police cars and the ambulance that blocked off the road the morning after, when his body was discovered. The police attempted to stop all traffic while the situation was taken care of, but since this was the primary street that led to the school, they could not stop the throngs of teenagers who traveled up the sidewalk past the building. Because of this, news of Ukai’s suicide spread quickly among the school and the rest of the town, prompting many people, friends and strangers alike, to visit the building and lay flowers and other offerings in front of the store window in respect for the departed. Ukai’s funeral and closed wake were held not long after, in which Ikkei, Nekoma’s second coach Manabu Naoi, Ukai’s friends Yusuke Takinoue and Makoto Shimada, and two others were pallbearers. Ennoshita and Suga wanted to assist as well, but they were both still recovering from their injuries and were not permitted to be pallbearers.

That was the last time a majority of the team was in the same location, as those that did not assist in carrying the coffin still came to pay their respects. The only person missing was Hinata, who was still in a coma at this time, but everyone else from the team attended with their families, even Asahi. That was also the last time anyone had seen the aforementioned senior, who had since become a shell of who he once was; a disheveled wreck of a man and a recluse either scared of the outside world or ashamed of what he had become. Suga turned away from the shop, which still featured some snow-covered offerings out front, as he began to combine the memory of the three seniors all visiting this location together for years with his imagination of Ukai shooting himself in the top-floor room. It was a horrifying image, and one that Suga never wanted to think about again. The third year started walking back up the hill, away from both his long-lost memories and his nightmares.

After a couple more minutes of walking, Suga reached the top of the hill, turning at the entrance to the school parking lot which was faster to walk through than going to the entrance of the school and around the main building. Most of the lot was empty, save a few cars, likely the last few instructors staying late to grade papers or maintenance staff of the school. As Suga approached the side of the lot near the gymnasium, he found that there were two cars parked near each other with only one space in between. Both vehicles, one silver and another light green, were nearly devoid of snow, indicating that they had recently moved, and there were two people standing outside of them leaning against the small silver car. Suga recognized one, a girl, as Saeko, Tanaka’s sister, but was unable to identify the other as Akiteru, Tsukishima’s brother. Over the past couple months, the two had become good friends, being there to support each other as they assisted their siblings in dealing with the aftermath of the accident.

Saeko easily saw the third year walking toward them in the snow and energetically waved to him, “Suga, hey!” The man next to her turned his head away from Saeko and gave Suga a kind smile but stayed silent for the time being. “How ya been, kid? You’re lookin’ better!”

“Hi Saeko,” Suga answered as he approached, reaching them very quickly due to the easily traversable flat snow of the parking lot. Upon reaching the two, Saeko gave Suga a welcoming hug as they had not seen each other in quite some time, “I’ve been fine, thanks for asking. Who is this?” Suga questioned, motioning toward Akiteru once Saeko released the third year.

Akiteru offered his right hand to Suga, which the third year accepted and shook as the older man talked, “I’m Akiteru Tsukishima, Kei’s brother. Nice to officially meet you Suga, though i’ve seen you around before.” Again, Akiteru gave Suga a bright smile upon finishing his explanation, making Suga feel more comfortable though confused at how somebody like this could be related to the Tsukishima he knew.

“Likewise, nice to meet you,” Suga responded, retracting his glove-covered hand back into the pocket of his jacket. He glanced over at the light green van and assumed correctly that it belonged to Akiteru, as he knew the small silver car was Saeko’s, a fact he learned when he was a second-year and she offered to drive them to a match. It was then that Suga realized what their presence here meant, “Wait, so does that mean…”

“Yep,” Saeko cut Suga off, leaning back against her car and crossing her arms, “They’re already inside waiting.” The third year was ecstatic at this news since he suspected he would arrive to an empty building; never did he imagine that people would be so punctual and that they would be waiting for _him_. Without another word, Suga quickly began to jog through the snow toward the doors of the gym, leaving the smiling Saeko and Akiteru behind him. His fears that he developed of even entering the location of the old volleyball practices were completely dashed and replaced with anticipation at seeing the remaining team back together all in one group.

Suga ran up to the covered walkway, almost slipping on the ice covering the exposed pavement, and moved up the stairs to the door, slamming his right arm and shoulder into it to swing it open quickly. The door was easily moveable and it swung open, hitting against the inside wall of the gymnasium as Suga stumbled through, nearly losing his balance in his excitement. As he caught himself and stopped with his arms on his knees, the third year looked up and around him, seeing a small group of scattered people standing not far from the doorway in the center of one of the courts. With the lights on, he easily identified the group. Ennoshita stood closest, taken aback by the sudden and loud entrance of Suga, and was accompanied by Tanaka, who was leaning against a single crutch. To the left of them were Tsukishima in his walking cast and Yamaguchi, who wheeled his wheelchair around to face the startling Suga. Lastly, on the right of Ennoshita and Suga stood Kageyama, who up until recently had a sling on his arm for his broken shoulder and was, along with Ennoshita and Suga, some of the closest people to being “fully healed.”

“You okay?” Tsukishima said calmly but sincerely as Suga regained himself and stood back up straight, adjusting his bag and scarf accordingly, both of which had jostled out of position.

This is the kind of reaction that Suga was hoping for as his fear that no one would should up at all was very legitimate, particularly since the weather had turned so sour, so seeing such a large turnout was amazing to him. “I’m fine, i’m fine, thanks. It’s so good to see all of you here!” the third year said smiling wide at the group, most of whom gave him a smirk in return. As Suga looked around at his friends, he noticed there were two notable exceptions to make the full turnout: Asahi and Yachi. “Has anyone talked to Yachi? Do you know if she’s coming?”

Kageyama stepped forward, still wearing his black winter jacket despite the rather well heated room they were in, “She’s visiting Hinata right now,  I told her i’d tell her about the meeting when I went back. I usually visit him around six or six-thirty myself, so i’ll be headed over there afterword,” he explained. It is true that Kageyama had been visiting Hinata daily, hardly skipping a day and typically spending at least an hour in his hospital room. It had gotten to the point that all of the hospital staff knew who Kageyama was at this point, even greeting him by name when he arrived and continuing to let him know that Hinata had yet to wake up. Though he knew it was quite unlikely visiting the sleeping boy would really do anything to help, he felt obligated to do so anyway, and Yachi would occasionally join him, though she usually visited right after school and was gone by the time Kageyama came around.

“Oh okay,” Suga returned, understanding Yachi’s reasoning, “That’s alright, thanks for letting me know.” As he thought about it more, he looked to Yamaguchi and asked the first year a question he had been wondering about for a while, “So, Yamaguchi. How exactly did you make it here? Did your parents give you a ride or something because I didn’t see them outside.”

Yamaguchi shook his head, “No, Akiteru gave me a ride. The snow was really bad so I wasn’t planning on going at first,” the black-haired teen looked up at his blonde friend holding onto the handles at the back of the chair, “But Tsukki said we should go and convinced his brother to help us out.”

In response to this Tsukki scowled and looked away from Suga and the others up toward the balcony of the gym as he voiced out a soft , “Tsk.” What Yamaguchi explained was the truth, but Tsukishima did not want the others to know that it was he and not Yamaguchi that advocated more to actually attend the meeting, “I just knew Yamaguchi wanted to go and he needed my help, that’s all.”

After the explanation, the room got awkwardly quiet as no one said anything for about ten or fifteen seconds. Though in actuality it was only a short stretch of time, the silence made it seem much longer and more excruciating than it really was.“So what exactly are we doing here?” Tanaka posed, still a little further away from the rest of  the group, “You and Ennoshita wouldn’t leave me alone about this so i’m here, but what’s the purpose exactly?”

Ennoshita turned to Tanaka and gave him a confused look as he explained, “I told you before! We wanted to get everyone together to show our support for each other!” he exclaimed, slightly put-off that Tanaka seemed to have completely ignored the last time this was explained to him. Ennoshita crossed his arms and hunched over slightly as he continued, softer tone now, “So much had happened to all of us, we need to show ourselves that we’ll be okay…”

“So that’s it?” Tanaka fired back in a raised voice as he hobbled forward with his cast and crutch, “We’re just supposed to stand here and pretend that everything’s going to be okay, that there’s nothing wrong with this situation?!”

Ennoshita was surprised by Tanaka’s reaction. He normally was a very loud and outspoken person, but lately he had kept to himself for the most part, this is the most energy he had shown in quite a while, and it was full of negative emotions. “No, I….” Ennoshita stuttered.

“Hey, Tanaka, calm down,” Suga said, attempting to diffuse the situation, “He’s just saying that it’s been tough on all of us and we thought it would be nice to all get back together again as a team.”

At this, Tsukki stepped around Yamaguchi’s wheelchair and fired back, “What, are you trying to say that we should try to play again? Are you kidding?”

Ennoshita and Suga together responded very quickly with a “No.” It was never their intention to attempt to revive the team and knew that it would be dangerous to propose such a situation. Ennoshita continued to explain after he moved over to Tsukishima and put his hand on the tall first-year’s shoulder, “No, no, no, we’re not saying that at all, we just want to ta-”

As Tsukishima brushed off Ennoshita’s hand and the latter pleaded to the group to calm down, Kageyama quietly interjected, “Well, why not?” Another silence fell over the room as everyone turned to look at him. Suga and Ennoshita in particular were dumbstruck both by the suggestion and by the impending storm that the two were unable to stop at its inception.

After a few seconds, Tsukki responded, “What the _fuck_ do you _mean_ , ‘why not’?” The first year was absolutely fuming by this point as he took a couple slow strides toward the young setter. “Have you even looked at what has become of this ‘team’, if you can even call it that anymore. Half of the members are now dead, Kageyama. Tanaka and I still have broken legs, Yamaguchi is in a damn wheelchair and the other half of your freak duo has been in a coma for months!”

“Hey back off, man,” Kageyama yelled back, fired up at the disdainful description of the team and at the insinuation that Hinata could be permanently gone, “All I mean is that when we all recover we should try to play sometime again, I don’t mean right now.”

“Tsukishima, Kageyama,” Suga started, walking up to Kageyama to try and hold him back in case something were to happen between the first years, “Stop, there’s no reason for this, we aren’t even discussing-”

“How the hell can you even think about that right now? It’s a _game_ , Kageyama,” Tsukishima continued, throwing his free hand up and stopping himself from forming a clenched fist, “Can you stand here and not think of everyone else who’s now six feet under, you insensitive prick?”

“Even if we wanted to play again,” Tanaka started, adding to Tsukishima’s side of the argument in a more reserved manner, “If you haven’t noticed, our captain is dead, our teacher is dead and even our coach is dead. How can we just recover from that? You can’t!”

Ennoshita tried his best to stand between the three men all yelling at each other, “Hey guys, seriously, just calm down, this is not what we’re here fo-”

Tsukishima scoffed and turned his back toward Kageyama as he slyly remarked, “Maybe if Ukai wasn’t such a coward we wouldn’t have that problem.” He attempted to say this under his breath so that Kageyama could not hear it but he failed to do so and everyone from Yamaguchi to Kageyama heard this hateful comment. It was not a thought that Tsukishima regularly considered about Ukai, but with his anger all being released at once, he had eventually said something he did not entirely mean.

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, shocked at what his best friend had just said about their late coach.

Even Suga was angry about this comment, shifting from his attitude of trying to disarm the situation to sending his own comment back out, “What the fuck, Tsukishima? How could you even say that about him?” Though Suga himself never agreed with why a person would want to purposely end their own life, he understood Ukai’s point of view, particularly after working so hard to save everyone and being rewarded so cruelly by Daichi’s father.

“Screw this, i’m done with all of this,” Tanaka muttered, turning away from the argument and toward the doors of the gymnasium.

As Ennoshita was busy trying to settle the argument between Tsukishima and Kageyama, Suga moved to try to stop Tanaka, attempting to convince him to stay in vain hope that this meeting they planned could be salvaged. “Tanaka, wait!” Suga called out as he moved in the way of Tanaka’s hobbling, “Don’t leave! Please, all we want to do is talk things out…”

Suga realized that with this meeting spiraling south quickly, it was unlikely that he would be able to stop Tanaka at this point, but he continued to do all that he could. He wanted to prevent any animosity from spreading and knew that if it was not nipped in the bud now, it would continue to fester. While the others continued to yell at each other, Tanaka moved closer and closer to the door, moving around Suga without stopping. “Suga,” Tanaka began to explain, “It’s nothing against you, really. I’m just done with this team.”

Meanwhile, the yelling between the two first-years had yet to cease and had gotten worse, with Ennoshita in the middle of the two attempting in vain to ease their nerves. “Why do you just _have_ to be such a cold-hearted asshole, Tsukishima?” Kageyama exclaimed, advancing closer toward Tsukishima, completely ignoring Ennoshita’s presence, “I barely even said anything and you get all bent out of shape immediately.”

“Because you’re acting like their deaths didn’t even matter,” Tsukishima responded, only turning his head but keeping his back toward the black-haired first year, “They die and you want to start playing the second you’re better and forget all about them. You’re the cold-hearted one here.”

“Fuck you, Tsukishima!” Kageyama spat, clenching both of his fists in pure rage.

Ennoshita saw Kageyama’s fists tighten up and how furious he was getting and was afraid an actual physical  fight would break out between the two. “Kageyama, just let it go!” Ennoshita said, stepping between the two with his arms spread wide, “You too,Tsukishima, stop provoking him!”

“As usual,” Tsukishima returned, “The King wants to take back his throne. No matter how many of his subject _die_ along the way.” The tall boy started to walk away toward Yamaguchi but added one last remark, “You’re a monster.”

Kageyama charged forward past Ennoshita’s arms at this insinuation, the last straw having been torn to shreds between the two young members of the team. Ennoshita, in response, followed beside the first year, attempting to get to Tsukishima before Kageyama, knowing what was about to happen is the young setter were to get there first. “PIECE OF SHIT!” Kageyama yelled as he charged, prompting Tsukishima to actually turn to look at the boy he turned his back on long ago, seeing both boys charging in his direction, Kageyama with his first raised. It was too late for Tsukishima to defend himself but he tried to put his free hand up in order to brace the incoming strike. However, Tsukishima was quickly shoved to the right, away from Kageyama and, onto the ground landing safely on his behind.

WHAM.

Kageyama had missed his punch for Tsukishima by just a hair but had hit something else. Ennoshita was in better shape than Kageyama, having healed faster, and managed to reach Tsukishima a fraction of a second before the first year, saving him from the punch. However, because Ennoshita needed to use all of his strength to reach the blonde first year, he could not stop his own forward momentum and ended up directly in line for Kageyama’s punch. He was struck by the full force of Kageyama’s rage between his right eye nose, causing his body to stumble and fall to the floor, writhing in pain. “Ahhhh!” Ennoshita exclaimed as he rolled on the ground holding his nose, which was now bent, broken, and now bleeding a small amount onto the polished wood floor of the gymnasium.

For a few seconds, everyone stood in place except for Ennoshita, taking in the full impact of what had just occurred. After three or four seconds, Yamaguchi loudly remarked, “What the hell is wrong with all of you?!”

Suga fell to his knees after witnessing what had just occurred, seeing the penultimate end to what he attempted to put together and save. The door to the auditorium clinked open behind him after Tanaka opened it using his crutch and the cold air rushed into the auditorium, sending shivers up everyone’s spine. Before stepping out, Tanaka left Suga with one last comment, “You see? This is not a team. It’s over.”

As Suga got up and rushed over to tend to Ennoshita’s bleeding nose, Kageyama grabbed his bag and stormed out the door on the opposite side of the gymnasium, with Tsukishima and Yamaguchi following suit through the door that Tanaka had used.

“Ennoshita, are you okay?!” Suga wailed, steadying his friend by rolling Ennoshita over onto his back, “Ah, shit, hold on!” the third year got up and rushed over to the door and took a step outside, the cold air again rushing in like an unwelcome visitor.  As he opened the door, Suga witnessed Akiteru’s green vehicle back up and drive away from the parking lot, Saeko’s car already gone and far out of sight by this point. However, this was not his concern at the moment and he instead reached up and grabbed an icicle growing down from the roof of the covered walkway, returning to Ennoshita after doing so. “Here, hold this against your nose, it’ll help,” he said handing the icicle to Ennoshita, who gladly accepted it and followed his senior’s order.

The punch had already started to discolor Ennoshita’s cheek and his nose was slightly bent to the side, most likely broken from the sheer force of Kageyama’s punch. Ennoshita was not crying from the punch but was still wincing in pain and having difficulty breathing through his nose and had to rely solely on his mouth. Suga pulled out his phone and called his mother, telling her that they needed to be picked up as soon as possible, that one of his friends needed to go to the hospital. Despite the bad weather, his mom promised to be there in a couple minutes, and the two disconnected the line, leaving the two alone again to wait.

Ennoshita sat up carefully, still holding the icicle against his nose, which had already stopped most of the bleeding by this point, but still looked terrible. After sitting up entirely, he remarked, “What were we even thinking, Suga?” The third year did not have a response to this question, as his entire thought process had been shattered concerning this meeting. In hindsight, he started to think of multiple ways in which he could have avoided the fight or diffused the situation after it begun, but all these scenarios did was fill him with more regret. After Suga shook his head solemnly, Ennoshita added, “I don’t think I can do this Suga.”

Confused and concerned at what he fully meant, Suga just let out a soft, “What?”

“This,” Ennoshita repeated, “I promised i’d help them. Look over them.” Suga now remembered their conversation the previous day where Ennoshita had promised to help take care of the survivors after the seniors had graduated and he and Tanaka became the eldest. “I can’t do it. I can’t help them all.” Ennoshita said sadly, dashing Suga’s hopes of helping everybody to recover to who they all once were.

Suga sighed and plopped down next to Ennoshita away from the drops of blood on the floor, “It’s okay.”

Ennoshita continued further, completely dejected and heartbroken. “I know you tried, Suga, but it’s already over. I’m sorry.”

The two sat in silence for the last few minutes before Suga’s mother arrived with his two younger twin siblings in the back seat. She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and ran inside bursting through the doors of the gymnasium. Suga insisted that she take his friend down to the hospital to be taken care of but said that he would stay behind to clean everything up. Despite her protests, Suga did not budge on his stance and the second year was escorted away, leaving Suga alone in the empty gymnasium, surrounded by a small pool of blood that stained the floor.

  
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Hinata’s eyes lazily blinked open to the sight of a white pristine ceiling above him and the sound of a constant beeping emitting next to his bed. At first the boy simply thought that his alarm was going off for school and instinctively tried to reach over and turn it off, but realized quickly that that was not the case. Hinata tried to move his arm to turn off the constant beeping next to him, but stopped instantly, realizing that something wasn’t right. His arm felt heavy and tingly for some reason, as if he fell asleep on it in a weird way. Soon, his tired eyes trailed down towards his arm to get a better look and as they focused, they fell upon a white cord attached to his finger and the IV going into his forearm. _What the?_ Hinata questioned completely lost, his mind still hazy and groggy from just waking up only moments prior. Hinata knew just by the atmosphere in this room that he was not home but somewhere completely different. _Where am I?_ He wondered while weakly looking down at his arm that had an IV in it. His eyelids felt heavy as he tried to focus more, as if they were weighed down by a ton of bricks. The white pristine ceiling above him, the starch white walls next to his bed, the smells in the room, the bed itself, plus the random tube going into his inner elbow, it was plain to see that this was not Hinata’s bedroom. It was no rocket science, this was not his room, nor was this his house, and after a few more seconds of confusion Hinata realized that this was indeed a hospital. _How in the world did I end up here…? W-What happened to me?!_ The boy frantically thought as he tried to sit up, body failing to allow him even the simplest disturbance, as if each bone and muscle in his body rejected the idea of movement of any sort. His body sure was weak, that much was certain, for even the simplest movement caused Hinata to become quickly exhausted and tired. _What is going on?!_ Hinata breathed in and out quickly trying to calm his own nerves _._

The room he was in was mostly barren with white walls and a ceiling to match. However, next to him on his bedside table, Hinata noticed an assortment of get-well cards, stuffed animals, and brightly lit things that splashed the boring room with color. Next to his bed was a chair that was pulled up close to him with a light blue jacket hung over the back. _Why am I here?_ Hinata still questioned as he tried to prop up on his elbows once more but again failed to even make his body move in the direction he wanted to, thus causing him to frantically think about worst case scenarios. _What happened to me?! Where is everyone?_ Hinata wondered as he started to get a little bit of feeling back in his left arm and immediately tried to move his right one, though it was still a little stiff, perhaps because it had an IV in it. _Ahhhh!_ Hinata internally screamed as he wracked his brain trying to search for clues, any inkling as to how he got here, where he was, and where his friends were. _I can’t remember anything about how I got here! What was the last thing I was doing?_ Hinata thought as he soon became very sick of not knowing anything and initially wanted to get up and walk out the door to go ask someone for help. As soon as he flipped the blanket off of him and tried getting out of bed, he felt his heart rate start to escalate. The muscles in his legs wouldn't cooperate with him and pain rode up his left leg causing him to slightly gasp. His leg was propped up about a foot off the bed in a cast. _Why is my leg in a cast?!_ Hinata questioned rooting through his brain for as much information as he could gather, _How did it get like that?!_

This was the first time Hinata had even noticed anything about his legs since waking up and now that his full attention was focused on his lower half, he became more worried as he glanced down at his leg in the sling. " _WHAT HAPPENED TO ME_?!" The first year tried to yell out this time, his voice raspy and hoarse causing him to stop vocalizing entirely. It was as if Hinata had a bad cold for weeks, the small teen wasn’t even sure that the voice that he just heard was his own, until he tested it out again. “Hello…?” he questioned himself glaring down at the cast on his leg, his voice raspy and uncertain.

Suddenly, a new voice gasped near the door and yelled his name as Hinata glanced around quizzically to find the owner of the voice. "HINATA!? YY-You’re awake!?" A girl shrieked at the doorway and ran closer to his bed, spilling some of her hot coffee on her shirt. “We were all so worried! I’m so glad you’re finally awake!”

“Finally?” Hinata questioned looking at the girl now who he noticed instantly as Yachi and her now stained white shirt, “What do you mean asleep? How long was I out for?” Hinata probed as he saw Yachi approach closer to his bedside.

“Too long…” the girl sadly said as she came up to the chair that had the jacket on it previously and sat down setting her hot drink on the table next to a get well soon card and grabbed a tissue out of her jacket pocket and tried wiping off the stain on her shirt. “I just got a text from Kageyama. He says that he should be here soon, then we can talk. I should probably text him the good news!” Yachi fiddled around in her bag and reached in to grab her phone. Hinata smiled slightly and was about to ask her a question when a voice arose from the doorway.

“No need to text me Yachi. I’m already here.” Kageyama huffed as he set his bag down on the floor by the doorway and glanced at Yachi sitting down next to the bed. His right knuckles still red and hurting from punching Ennoshita on accident earlier. Yachi slightly gasped in her chair when the bag hit the ground with a small ‘wam’ sound. She honestly didn’t expect Kageyama to be here so soon, seeing as though the meeting was supposed to be going on for at least another ten minutes. Kageyama then scrolled his eyes over and observed Hinata lying in the hospital bed, the small first year look so confused. He wanted to tell him how scared everyone's been lately; he wanted to tell him that he was afraid but instead all that came out was anger. "Y-you…You dumbass!! Do you have any idea what we've been through!? It’s about time…” he paused, huffing as if he just ran all the way here, “It’s about time you woke up! Don’t ever do that again!”  Hinata sat disordered and muddled for he still had no answers to any of his questions. Even though he was confused and sleepy, it was nice to see Yachi and Kageyama care so much about him. Hinata felt his eyelids start to close and forced them to stay open, there was no way that he would fall asleep now! He had to find out answers.

“Yachi, Kageyama! What-what happened to me? I’m…” Hinata paused as another wave of drowsiness hit him and he yawned, but continued, determined to stay awake and figure out what happened. “I’m so sleepy but please tell me what’s going on…I-I’m so lost… How did I get here and where is everyone else? How long was I out for? And what happened to my leg?” Hinata started spit-firing questions, one after another knowing that sleep was trying to overcome him. He tried sitting up and changing positions thinking that if he did that then maybe he wouldn’t be so tired, but still, even now, his body refused to listen to him. Yachi and Kageyama watched him struggle to sit up for a moment until finally Kageyama noticed and pushed the button on the side off the bed to raise the back just a little bit.

“Here” he said as the bed shifted a little under Hinata’s weight and began rising little by little until he was at eye level with Yachi who was still sitting down next to the bed. After this, Kageyama walked over to the other side of the room and grabbed the only other remaining chair and brought it over, placing it next to Yachi’s. This way Hinata didn’t have to exert any more by looking all over and talking, now he could lay in one position and look at both of them at the same time.

Hinata’s eyes started to water, everything right now was so confusing and he didn’t understand why he hurt. He not only _wanted_ to know why he was here but Hinata felt like he _needed_ to know what happened for the sake of keeping him sane. Though he had only been awake a few minutes it felt like an eternity to the small first year as he felt the bed slowly rise to a more suitable position and glanced over at Kageyama who had his hand pressed up against a button. “Thanks, Kageyama,” Hinata said, sniffling his nose and seemingly out of breath, _Why is talking making me tired all of a sudden? I just woke up and I feel like all my bones and muscles are craving sleep._ “Hey… So… Uh… Where am I? And what happened to me?”

Kageyama and Yachi traded glances with each other as if asking who should be the one to break the news to Hinata. Kageyama knew deep down that the young girl would just beat around the bush and probably end up relying on Kageyama anyway to divulge the gruesome demise of their fellow friends, so he took it upon himself to begin the questioning. “You sure you don’t want to rest up some before we tell you?” Kageyama asked, he himself not wanting to relive the moment either but knew he would have to tell the boy soon anyway. Honestly, talking in general was just keeping his mind off of the horrors of what just occurred in the gymnasium not too long ago. _How could I be so stupid?!_ Kageyama thought as his sad tired eyes glanced at Hinata starting to slump over in his bed, eyes starting to close.

“What no! No… I’m awake just tell me please,” Hinata snapped out of his dazed slumber and righted himself again looking pleadingly over at his two friends before continuing, “Please…I need to know.”

Kageyama and Yachi just glanced at one another before Yachi piped up, “Well… Um… What…” She began before taking a deep breath and finishing her sentence. Her eyes now locked with Hinata’s, “What do you remember?”

Hinata knew just by the glances alone that something was up, something much bigger than he originally thought. When he first realized that he was in a hospital and not at home, Hinata thought that maybe he slipped playing volleyball and broke his leg in the process, but with how secretive and sad both Yachi and Kageyama looked, he no longer thought that was the case. “I…” he began trying to wrack his brain for any information, “I don’t know… I don’t remember anything.”

“Ok… Let me rephrase it for you. What was the last volleyball match you remember then?” Kageyama spoke up thinking that maybe if they knew where exactly his memory stopped they could help him.

Hinata rattled his brain for a moment before slowly responding “Waku- No wait!” Hinata started to say before a light bulb lit up inside his mind and he quickly replied instead, “We faced Aoba Josei! I remember that and I… Did we win? I’m pretty sure we did, right?” Hinata said in a more confused tone than certain.

Kageyama was please to know that his memory wasn’t as bad as he originally thought as he answered, “Yes we won, but Hinata do you remember anything that happened afterwards?”

Hinata closed his eyes for a moment and thought deep down but the deeper he thought the more unknowns arose. It was like a giant gaping black hole resided inside the young boy's mind. It was scary not knowing anything that happened. “No…I tried but I…There’s nothing here! It’s just…” Hinata breathed out and tried to form his sentences better. “Nothing. There’s nothing here! Kageyama what happened to me?!” Hinata fretted as Kageyama took a deep sigh and prepared himself for what he wished he didn’t have to repeat, causing Hinata to feel uneasy and tense.

“Hinata…” he began as the usually hyperactive first year looked his direction with fear and anticipation. “There was an accident...” Kageyama began as Hinata felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

“Wha- What do you mean Kageyama!?” Hinata stuttered eyes widening upon the notion of such a harrowing event.

“Our bus was on a mountain path, it started raining and…” Kageyama paused looking over at Yachi then back over at Hinata in the bed. “There was a semi and it hit our bus causing us to spin out of control and veer off the road down the mountain.” Kageyama breathed indistinctively reaching up to grip his right arm with his left. “Yachi and I were lucky. I suffered a broken arm, and she got a pretty bad bruise on her thigh and various other small things but overall I’d call it lucky.”

Hinata gasped at Kageyama trying to take all of what he just heard in. _Bus crash? Lucky?_ Hinata thought as he still processed the information. Suddenly something inside Hinata started turning and he felt queasy and uneasy about that last part. “What do you mean your arm’s broke? It looks fine to me?” He asked now truly scared at how long he’d been asleep.

“You’ve been in a coma for two months Hinata. My fracture is already mostly healed.” Kageyama replied, no snarky comments, no “dumbass”, no nothing… Just straight to the point as Hinata stared at him and Yachi in disbelief. It was weird to see Kageyama this way. He was very subtle, Yachi looked to be on the verge of tears. _Two months… No… No that can’t be right… How could I have gotten in a coma for so long?!_ Hinata refused to believe as he stared wide eyes at the other first year male in front of him.

“Two months… How…” Hinata fearfully spoke, eyes terrified at the sudden news that would most likely change his life forever. _Why was I in a coma for two whole months?!_ Hinata replayed in his mind over and over, eyes large and confused as he tried to take in all the information at once.

“Hinata you need to listen to us,” Yachi started more serious than ever, “We were in a bus crash. That was two months ago today. But- But that’s not all of it” Yachi continued as if she just wanted to get this out of the way as fast as he could.

Hinata felt bile trying to rise up in his throat and tried desperately to swallow it down but in doing so started to breathe in rapidly, “How could there be more? I mean a bus crash! I-I don’t know what to say I-I-I!” Hinata exclaimed, causing Yachi to stand up and slowly pat him on the back.

“Kageyama maybe we should stop...” She started to say but was cut off by the determined first year setter.

“No, he deserves to know about them… They were his friends too, Yachi”, Kageyama stated as Hinata felt an intense pressure rise within him.

“I know that but-” Yachi began before getting cut off by Hinata’s question.

“What do you mean _were_ my friends?” Hinata whispered partly to himself yet loud enough for all those around him to hear, worry now sinking deep into his bones. “What happened Kageyama?!” Hinata shouted, breathing now hitching up in his chest even more as he felt his own heart pound up against his rib cage. This caused Yachi to quickly glare at Kageyama as if asking for sure if this was the best time to do this. “No… Don’t tell me…” Hinata said as if reading the mood, “Did someone die…?” Hinata finally put two and two together; _this must be why they didn’t want to tell me._ He thought as he looked up at his two friends with sadness in his eyes, “That’s it isn’t it? Someone died.” Hinata repeated looking down at his cast on his leg now. “I was in a coma for two whole months… So much could have happen in two months.” Hinata exclaimed causing Kageyama to sorrowfully glance his direction, the setter still not saying anything. It was one thing to wake up and not know where you are at, but to wake up and find out that you missed out on two whole months of your life, that was terrifying. Hinata’s eyes grew almost twice their size, as he tried to take in the information presented to him before asking one more time, almost pleadingly, “Are the others okay?” Hinata hesitated looking from Kageyama to Yachi, both of them looking in any other direction but Hinata’s. Finally, Kageyama exchanged a look of despair with Yachi, and Hinata knew that he’d found his answer. “Who” Hinata quietly voiced out, “Who died Kageyama? I don’t remember any accident but you said ‘we’ so stop acting passive and tell me!” Hinata snapped causing Yachi to quickly become scared and sit down in her chair. “What…happened to them?”

Kageyama turned his face away from Hinata in an attempt for Hinata not to look directly at him and softly whispered “You’re right Hinata… Not all of us made it out alive…” The first year setter started moving his arm over his face and turning to look at Hinata directly in the eyes. As soon as Kageyama turned around Hinata felt as if someone just punctured his heart with some sharp object. Kageyama's stare, one that on any other occasion could potentially scare the crap out of you, was much different. Masked behind his deep blue of his eyes, was a sadness that was rarely ever seen. Suddenly Hinata caught a glimpse of something shimmering. Was Kageyama crying? Upon further inspection, Hinata noticed that his eyes were slightly red and that he was indeed correct, Kageyama was in fact crying, or at least trying to hold back tears. Hinata visibly gasped, tears forming in his own eyes at the unbelievable side of Kageyama he was witnessing. Before long, Kageyama spoke again, taking Hinata out of his respitore. “7 of us… Didn’t make it.”

Hinata stared in absolute horror, eyes darting from Kageyama to Yachi distraught. When he thought that someone died he literally meant someone, not a whole bunch of someone’s. He couldn’t even fathom the thought of losing one, but to be told that 7 of his teammates were dead, in the time that he was asleep was beyond his comprehension. “What…?” Hinata strained his voice trying to move one of his arms up to his mouth but failing. “What do you mean Kageyama?! Don’t tell me… No… Oh God why?” Hinata spoke, voice cracking at odd intervals as Kageyama turned his face away from the boy in the hospital bed. Thus causing Hinata to look at Yachi with pleading eyes. “Yachi?” He questioned as the young girl wept softly in her chair and Hinata knew this was no joke. His eyes grew wider at the realization that this was no nightmare, this was real. “No… No… No… Oh God… Kageyama who di-” Hinata choked, still battling the fatigue that was his constant reminder as to how tired he really was. Hinata shook the weariness off and asked again with a more determined look in his eyes. “Who, Kageyama? Please, I need to know who died.”

Yachi looked miserable as she blew her nose into a tissue and Kageyama locked eyes with Hinata once again. He wished he didn’t have to tell Hinata the horrific details of what went down on the mountain but in a way he understood where the boy was coming from. If Kageyama was in his shoes, he’d want to know everything as well. “Well…” Kageyama began but stopped when he realized that he had no idea where to begin. “Well…” he gulped again trying to think of how he would go about wording the death of their beloved teammates.

As he told them about the events that happened that night he could see the poor boy physically pale and freeze. Yachi, not wanting to remember that night had told Kageyama that she’s sorry but she couldn’t do it and left the hospital room crying. At first Kageyama was mad at her for bailing, but he knew just by looking at her that she was already uncomfortable being there as it was, and he didn’t want to further harm the girl by making her have to relive this too. He hated doing this; he never wanted to relive those events again so much so that he had placed the events that went down on the awful night into the recess of his mind. _There was just no way that they're all gone… How could they all be dead?!_ Hinata started feeling like he might start hyperventilating any moment. After Kageyama finished talking about the 6 that died on the mountain, Hinata stopped him.

“Wait!... Y-You said that 7 died… But you only told me about 6, Kageyama…” Hinata paused looking down at his hands and counting with his fingers, “Daichi, Noya, Kinoshita, Narita, Kiyoko, and Takeda… That’s only 6?” Kageyama was actually slightly amazed by how attuned Hinata was even though he’d seen the boy dancing on the line of sleep and awareness all night. Kageyama suddenly remembered back to earlier in the gymnasium. A lot of stuff went down today and he felt a sting of pain within himself, _why did Tsukishima get so mad back there?! I was only making a suggestion… But then he had to bring up Ukai…Why did he have to bring up Ukai?!_ Kageyama angrily thought as he looked at Hinata and then said simply, “Ukai. He-“ Kageyama stopped and wondered if Hinata really had to know the details but thought better of of it and reserved to saying, “He died a few days after… His injuries were too much.” Hinata laid on his bed more confused than he had ever been in his entire life. _How could all this happen in two short months?!_ He thought perking up his ears when a sudden click was heard on the door.

“Ah!” Nurse Akria said in shock, almost dropping her clipboard, “You’re awake! Why didn’t you tell me sooner Kageyama?” She asked walking briskly into the room and over to Hinata to check his heart rate and other miscellaneous vitals.

“Ah, sorry, there was a lot we needed to talk about and I kind of forgot…” Kageyama apologized as he stood up continued, “I’ll be back tomorrow. Get some rest.” Kageyama assumed that the nurse would need some time to care for the newly-awakened Hinata and made his way over toward the door of the room.

“But-” Hinata began but knew that Kageyama was right. He was extremely tired, and on multiple occasions felt his eyes start to droop. Now that the conversation was over and even though he still had tons of questions, Hinata slowly felt himself start to relax a little bit.

“Sleep. You need to get your strength back,” Kageyama reiterated as he opened the door and lightly clicked it shut. It wasn’t long until Hinata slipped back into unconsciousness.   

 

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After Suga had cleaned up the small pool of blood, he exited the gymnasium and began the trek back home. The night had cleared up somewhat, as the snow had finally stopped piling up on the ground and the moon and the stars were clearly visible above, illuminating the ground in a light yellow glow. After exiting the parking lot, Suga started to turn down the road toward his home but stopped in place, letting the cold air blow across his face, numbing his nose. He was still so depressed and frustrated about the meeting and wanted to vent his anger and his feelings to somebody.

With this in mind, Suga instead turned around and traveled down a different road, going to the first person he could think of: Asahi. At this juncture, Suga still felt a strong bond of friendship with Asahi, despite the strains introduced with the ace’s newfound depression. Furthermore, Suga wished to ask Asahi why he did not show up to the meeting, slightly angry at the fact that his friend did not appear despite the multiple instances Suga begged him to show up. However, at the same time, Suga took solace in the fact that Asahi did not attend, as the explosion of emotions and anger introduced by Tsukishima, Kageyama and to a lesser degree Suga himself would not have been good for Asahi’s fragile emotional state.

As he traveled through the snow, he thought about what he would say to Asahi upon reaching his house, considering if he would charge in the building in an angry rant, which was what his heart wanted to do, or if he would be more calm and collected, which is what his brain told him. It was a difficult decision, and one he would need to make rather quickly, as Asahi actually lived rather close to the school, only about a five or ten-minute walk, even in the dense snow.  It was also during this walk that Suga realized that after the events of the gymnasium and the short cleaning job he undertook, it was past 7:30 already, meaning that both of Asahi’s parents were at work, since they both worked night shifts. Thankfully, Suga still had the key that the Azumane parents had lent to him weeks ago, so getting inside the building would not be an issue.

Upon arriving, all the lights inside the house were off, except for one window on the second floor that corresponded to Asahi’s room. This was still not surprising to Suga, since Asahi never leaves his house anymore, so the only time his light is off is when he is asleep. Suga used the house key on the front door and entered into the foyer, taking off his shoes and his coat and yelling out, “Asahi! The meeting’s over, i’m just going to hang out here for a bit!”

No response.

Despite knowing that his yell easily reached the rooms upstairs, Suga was met with nothing but silence. After putting everything down, he took a few more steps into the house and turned on a few of the downstairs lights to ensure he did not trip over anything, Again he called out, this time after reaching the base of the stairs, “Asahi, are you awake? I need to talk to you about something!”

No response.

Suga scoffed and assumed that Asahi was ignoring his calls because he came over unannounced, or that Asahi was simply trying to avoid Suga because of the skipped the meeting. Somewhat was off, very off about all this. Suga trudged up the stairway, his wet socks leaving slight damp marks into the carpet-covered stairs. As he reached the landing, nothing seemed out of place, all was as it normally was, aside from the eerie silence. This included the fact that there was no music playing from Asahi’s room, something he had gotten rather interested in to fill the space while he read the books that Suga would bring him. By this point, Suga was getting more concerned, as it was not like the Karasuno ace to flat-out ignore him like this. “Asahi...? Is everything alright?” Suga said loudly, the concern hardly masked at all as his voice started to waver.

No response.

Suga was now fully concerned and rushed up the last few stairs and down two doors toward Asahi’s room. “Asahi!!” Suga exclaimed, scared as to why he was given nothing but silence as a reply for so long. As he reached the door, he heard the floorboards on the other side of Asahi’s door creak, indicating that someone was moving inside the room.

Then the door swung open.

Asahi stumbled out of the room and fell to his knees, running partially headfirst into the wall opposite of his room before settling on the floor facing away from Suga, leaving a small indent in the wall. This startled Suga nearly out of his skin and he ran over to Asahi to discover the reason why he was not answering, thinking that maybe he was having some sort of weird seizure or something else. “Asahi! What’s wrong?! Answe-” Suga started to frantically say as he dived down to the ground and turned Asahi over toward him. He stopped talking and gasped upon seeing Asahi’s face, which featured something much worse than the small cut received from hitting the wall. The senior was shaking and twitching violently and his mouth was open, revealing small white bubbles of foam trailing out the side of it down his chin and into his beard. “Fucking hell! Asahi what happened?! Oh my god” Suga rambled, trying to hold the boy still and turn him to the side, in case Asahi was choking on something, “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, uhh uhh… Police!!”

Suga got up and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and immediately dialed the authorities. Someone picked up rather quickly and the senior explained the situation and gave them the address, constantly watching Asahi, whose eyes were wide open and staring up at Suga. When they dispatched police and an ambulance, they asked what had happened, which Suga explained that he had no idea, until he looked inside Asahi’s organized room. On the nightstand beside Asahi’s bed were two orange prescription bottles, both tipped over, open and completely empty. “Restoril!” Suga explained to the operator, “The bottles say Restoril, I don’t know what that is but they’re both empty! Oh god, what do I do?!”  

The operator instructed that Suga remain calm and keep an eye on his friend until the authorities arrive and they will take it from there. Suga stayed on the line with the operator while he waited, leaning by Asahi’s side, “Please… Don’t do this to me, Asahi… Please don’t die….Why? Why would you do something like this?" 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For two hours, Suga sat in the waiting room with his mother and his siblings as well as Ennoshita, who was released quickly upon being diagnosed and treated for a minor nose fracture. The Azumane family were contacted quickly and also joined Suga as soon as possible at the hospital, thanking him for being there to help their son. Asahi was transported safely to the hospital and was alive upon arrival but was considered an emergency case and taken back to get treated right away. He needed to have a gastric suction procedure, also known as a stomach pump, in order to eliminate all of the chemicals that he had ingested, which the paramedics determined to be anywhere between 45 and 60 sleeping pills.

Soon after, one of the doctors treating Asahi came back to see the Azumane family to deliver the news on their son. He explained that despite taking the amount of pills that he did, the fact that Suga reached Asahi not long after he had actually ingested the pills and that Asahi was still conscious when he was found gave the boy a high probability of recovering. The doctor went on to say that Asahi had fallen asleep while having his stomach pumped and they were afraid that he would have entered a coma, one that could have become permanent. Thankfully, Asahi had finally recovered and was awake once more in his hospital bed, though he will need to stay there for a few days for monitoring reasons.

Everybody was relieved at the announcement of this news, the Azumane’s crying together and hugging each other while Suga and Ennoshita both let out the longest sigh of relief they’ve ever had. With Asahi awake, the parents were allowed to see him in his bed, to which they invited Suga and Ennoshita to come along as well to visit him. They followed the doctor up two stories to Asahi’s room, where the boy was sitting quietly back against his reclined bed, knowing that he would have to explain to at least his parents why he attempted to kill himself.

Upon entering, Ryoko Azumane flung herself over Asahi, hugging him very tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. His father, although angry, was more relieved at the fact that his son was alive and greeted him with tears as well. Asahi was surprised by the fact that Suga and Ennoshita entered the room after his parents, hardly remembering that Suga was even there to save him, the last thing he remembered was trying to go to sleep after taking all the pills in hopes that he would not die while awake. Suga walked over to the side of Asahi’s bed and asked one simple question, “Why?”

Asahi answered this question to the best of his ability, knowing that he owed Suga at least that much after everything he had done, “I was scared... Of being... Alone... Of losing anyone again… Of even being friends with anyone because they will die too.” As he explained, Asahi started to cry, an emotion Suga had not seen from him since before the accident, “I was scared of my nightmares and of my dreams, of what I would think about just from looking out my window. I would see a plane and think about it burning out of the sky; I would see a storm and think about getting struck by lethal lightning; I would see a car and think about the crash… I was scared of everyone and everything…”  Asahi broke down into complete tears and hugged his mother back tightly as he finished his explanation, his voice slightly muffled by his mom’s clothing, “I didn’t want to be scared anymore!”

 

**_END_ **

 

 

 

 

 

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Epilogue:

 

“You have to put that foot first, dumbass!” Kageyama grumpily yelled as Hinata gripped the walking bars tightly, trying not to fall. The room was mainly vacant aside from Kageyama, Hinata, Hinata’s Physical Therapist, Dr. Suzuki and two others on the other side of the room. Dr. Suzuki had gotten to know Hinata and Kageyama quite well over the last couple weeks. It’s like they were best friends and mortal enemies at the same time as Hinata angrily shouted back at Kageyama calling him all sorts of names as he gripped the bars for dear life, and Dr. Suzuki tried to calm his nerves.

When Hinata first woke up he asked the doctor when he could start walking. He'd been asleep for two whole months and he wanted to start living life again. Dr. Hoi, one of the many doctors at the hospital, suggested that he could start physical therapy within the next few days. Thus making Hinata incredibly excited as he told the doctor he was ready any day, and that he wanted to start moving again. All this energy had built up inside the young first year and sitting on a bed wasn't helping much. In fact, it wasn't helping at all. Kageyama had come to visit Hinata everyday like he promised and even though there were times Hinata wanted to punch Kageyama so hard in the face, he was glad that at least he kept his promise. The hospital could get really lonely sometimes, and it was nice to have friends and family around. The day after waking up, Yachi returned, this time with Ennoshita and Suga. The chat was nice as Suga tried to comfort the first year. Asahi had still not visited him, nor Yamaguchi or Tsukishima, though the latter Hinata was not surprised by. Yesterday he was graced by Tanaka, which was more than enough to make Hinata's goofy grin return. It was nice, Tanaka had changed, but it was still nice of him to visit. Hinata felt guilt as he looked at what Tanaka had become, the sadness seeped off his body and through his clothes like a permanent aura of depression, yet he knew the real Tanaka. He knew that someday the Tanaka he knew would return. When Tanaka talked, he at least tried to act tough and strong which eased Hinata at least a little bit.

The doctors kept tabs on him for the last week and a half since being up and had even taken his cast off in the process and did a few X-rays. The bone has mostly healed and the doctors told him that they wanted Hinata to try stretching it out in bed and massaging when he can. Once he did that then it would become easier to start his physical therapy.

Hinata's family had stayed every day for a few hours at a time helping the boy out. Sometimes his mother or father would stretch out the muscles while Natsu crawled up on the bed next to her big brother and read him a story. Hinata smiled at this and listened as his younger sister would happily read him one of her many stories. It felt calm and as days went by, more normal until finally Hinata started his new practice for leg strengthening. _Finally I can start walking again!_

“I’m trying to Stingy-yama! My leg isn’t listening to me though!” Hinata’s voice rose frustrated at Kageyama, but in a way, he was happy for this, happy that Kageyama was here helping him out. After what he told Hinata about his friends, Hinata thought for sure that his heart stopped beating and that he was going into some form of heart attack right then and there. It was just so hard for him to believe that they were all dead. Knowing that he would no longer be able to play volleyball with them, hang out with them, or watch movies together was too much to take in and the reality of the situation was difficult to accept. The team was finished. Kageyama told him earlier about the fight that happened between the team members and the amount of anger and resent the team felt, most splitting their separate ways. However, now Hinata had to focus on getting better and trying to build up his strength so that he could get stronger.

“There, that's it just step down now,” Kageyama tried saying this time using the most calming voice he could muster.

Hinata glared at him, the look itself practically screaming 'stop treating me like a child’ but instead of opening his mouth to say some nasty remark towards the setter, he decided to keep it closed and focus his attention back at his leg. Suddenly, something inside Hinata seemed to give out as he gripped the bar tighter, knuckles turning white as he slightly shivered, teeth clenching.

Kageyama noticing this right away moved closer to ask the boy what was wrong. Hinata tried to tell him that his leg buckled in on him, but as soon as he opened his mouth he felt himself start to fall. Kageyama’s eyes grew wide as he tried to grab the first year before fulling falling on the floor but with the position of the bar in between them, he was only able to half catch him. This position was uncomfortable as the stern boy gently rotated Hinata around and leaned him up against himself. “Hey Hinata! Are you okay?” He frantically asked as the physical therapist, cautiously asked him if he was okay.

“Oww... “ Hinata voiced out as he looked up at Kageyama and then over at the physical therapist. “I lost my balance” Hinata said as he slowly tried to stretch out his tight muscles in his leg. The therapist inspected Hinata’s leg more and told him that he was to be more careful, that could have damaged their process but luckily for him, it wasn’t anything bad. After about ten more minutes of the guided walking, the training was done for today and Hinata could return home for now.

“You Dumbass! Stop pushing yourself so hard or you will never heal!” Kageyama roared, causing Hinata to tear up a bit.

“But Kageyama… If I don’t get better soon, I won’t be able to play volleyball anymore. I won’t be able to have fun like we used to. I need to be able to walk again! I need to push myself!” Hinata spat as he moved to stand up and try again, causing Kageyama to get irritated that Hinata wasn’t listening to him.

“Oh no you don’t” Kageyama said as he grabbed Hinata’s arm and slung it around his own shoulders in order to help the boy back to his room. The setter refused to set him back down despite any protests from the orange-haired teen proclaiming he could move by himself until he was back in his wheelchair over by the door to the room. “No, you are going to go back to bed to rest up!” Kageyama shouted finally reaching the chair and lightly setting Hinata in it. The short boy pouted in embarrassment at what just went down.

“What’s wrong with you, Kageyama?! I just wanted to get better so I can leave here quickly, but you-” Hinata began as Kageyama gripped his hands together standing in front of the boy.

“AND THEN WHAT?! What if you try this and you end up pulling a muscle in your leg? Or maybe you damage it so much so that you never fully recover! The therapist said to take it slow Hinata. So slow is how you are going to take it.” Kageyama snapped causing Hinata to look at him with a stunned expression that turned into a smile.

“I get it, I get it. I’ll take it slow. But when I return you better toss me a ball!” Hinata agreed as he thought about just how much Kageyama actually did care for him.

“Oh course I will!” He snickered, grabbing the back of the wheelchair now rolling Hinata back down the hall to his room. For the first time since waking up, Hinata felt at ease, as if everything just might work out in the end and smiled.

“Good. I’m glad” Hinata concluded as they finally reached the door to his room and walked inside. It was as if his life's story finally ended on one chapter and was beginning a new one. He hoped this new chapter would end a lot better than the last, but life is full of surprises and no one can predict their own future. All there was to do now was life life to the fullest and focus on recovering. It was that simple.

 

**Final End**

 

 

 

 

Notes: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE SONGS

Please tell me if you think Asahi was out of character or not. I wanted his atemptive suicide to be a shocker. Also please don't forget to share with me your favorite chapters? Saddest deaths? Whatever is on your mind. Thank you guys so much for reading and i hope to hear from you guys in the comments!!

Random information: I actually started writing this story 2 years ago when my best friend, Tara, died in a car crash. I know that this probably sounds a little morbid but since I can't actually go out and use my anger and kill the person who took her life in the real world without getting in trouble, I decided that I was going to make a douche semi driver kill and hurt the members of Karasuno. I purposely made him die because of my anger in real life. I have always like darker themes, and blood and torture on hot men so why not write a story about this. I love Haikyuu and I thought to myself, let's do it and eventually wrote a story. This story. I hope you all liked it very much, it was fun to write!!!! Actually, funny story but in my originally first draft I never had Kiyoko or Ukai die. Instead I saved Daichi and killed Suga. Also I was never going to make Yamaguchi almost die. In the original I had Noya, Takeda, Suga, Narita, and Kinoshita die. Everyone else was saved but things didn't work out as planned. I also was VERY distraught and against killing Ukai. I did not want him to die AT ALL but with the way chapter 9 ended... Well let's just say I did a lot of intensive research and couldn't come up with a logical way for him to live. I could have but it wouldn't really fit in with the story. So sadly he had to go. There have been a lot of changed made throughout the months and years. For example I had Suga die, then I changed it to Suga paralyzed, then I caned it again to broken arm and nose. I was temped to paralyze Yamaguchi but I didn't. Also I tried writing Hinata in earlier on but I couldn't seem to write his character correctly. I didn't know what to do with Asahi or Suga for the longest time... But in the end it all worked out and I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL MY READERS!! I know i say this a lot but Please comment and tell me what your favorite scene was? Favorite death? Saddest death? Anything!! I really love talking to you guys and by commenting you help me become a better writer and it means more than anything to me when i get to read your feedback and how you viewed my story. I know what stuff works great and what maybe not so much. Anyways thanks again!! Bless you and have a WONDERFUL life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll write another story? Idk I have two different thoughts in mind we will see. :) :D

While writing this story for the past two years I have accumulated a few different songs that I believe match certain characters pretty well. I will post the youtube links below, I do not own anything. The songs belong to those that sang them, same with the pictures on my tumblr rollingthunderakadancinginthemeadowoffireanddeath (I believe it’s shortened to “rollingthundera”). In some of the songs that I post a pairing is needed so just imagine that person singing to someone. Also… If you do not like the song, then don’t listen to it. Remember these are just my opinions and I’m not always right just so you know. Sometimes songs don’t quite  fit but are close enough so I put them on here. If you think that maybe the song is for the wrong person then message me because sometimes they are hard to pick one specific character. If you like the songs and want to talk to me more about them and why I chose them feel free to look me up or email me/private message. I will be happy to help you understand! I put the

  1. **Suga talking to Daichi *Forgiven* =**



<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9QSoxoMpfo>

My notes: I believe this one is self explanatory. Suga was too late to save Daichi thus causing Suga to reap with tears trying to wake the silent captain. The song talks about either lovers/ mother and father protecting a child but I viewed this more as Suga and Daichi have a very close bond and have been friends forever so when they talk about love you could take it as pairing love or best friend I love you. Anyway Daichi, in Suga’s eyes, gave up the fight and left Suga to deal with having to live without Daichi. Suga is trying to forgive Daichi for leaving him to lead but it’s slowly eating him alive because no one listens to him and he was not a born leader. Once Suga found Daichi he had a feeling that it was too late but refused to give up. Since Suga is the oldest third year he felt it was Daichi’s job to run the team but It was Suga’s job to protect the team. (Mom and Dad role kind of) In the end everything turned out to be the worst possible senerio and Suga didn’t know how to handle it on his own (until Ennoshita later helps him).

 

  1. **Suga talking to Daich *Say something I’m giving up on you*=**<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmErRm-vApI>



Very self explanatory. Suga finds Daichi unconscious and tries desperately to wake him, but Daichi never responds thus never says anything back. This causes Suga to slowly lose hope in his friend (or lover) so he starts to shake him away screaming that he better wake up and come home now! Whole all this is happening Suga feels so small and broken next to Yachi, Ukai, and Kinoshita. Since Suga is not a doctor the injury stumped him and he knew nothing at all in how to save his best friend.

  1. Asahi to Suga= Save me https://youtu.be/gbq6XaFj0nY This song is abojt a man who has hit the lowest point in life and is contemplating suicide by taking pills. It's not that thw man wants to die. He wants to be saved but doesn't know how to ask for help. He wiahes deep down that someone will save him for him own mind. When he tajes the pills and Suga finds him and res uea him that is his salvation. **Asahi to Noya *One last breath*=**<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vNJwR2vVOk>



Ok so this one is more in general for Asahi. Asahi in my story has witnessed not only death but has been told that multiple deaths occurred mostly being his best friends. Asahi is already glass hearted and weak willed to begin with so he cries out internally for help but then pushes people away because he doesn’t want to burden anyone. Asahi is walking down the road to nowhere and is lost, needing help to find his way again. He attempts suicided/ thinks about it, I’m on a ledge/maybe 6 feet ain’t so far down, are words of someone who is debating life. He has made mistakes in his life so he cries for God to save him every night because he doesn’t want to die but he’s struggling. He believes that there’s something left for him but he’s crying for find him before it’s too late. Suga then finds him and saves him.

  1. **Ennoshita (or honestly all the survivors?) =**[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0C8emw8jrA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0C8emw8jrA)



Ennoshita reminisces on a time when everything was normal but now he looks ahead and has practically saved his entire team that’s left from a bus crash. He is strong willed and refuses to die or give in even though he fears for his life. This could be the end but he will still try his hardest until he can’t anymore. The world tries to take everything away but Ennoshita doesn’t go down without a fight.

**Kinoshita (My favotire one) =<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwbIkzDVVFQ>**

 Ok this is my favorite one to talk about because it’s perfect for Kinoshita. So during my story Kinoshita has internal bleeding that is slowly killing him every second. He tried to hide the pain from Ukai and the others, as he slowly worsens and eventually lays down on the ground dying. He prays that the bleeding and coughing will stop but he also wonders deep down if he’s too far gone. Will he be able to be saved? Is it too late for him? During the course of the chapters he was alive for he prays over and over again in his mid for the pain to stop, for the blood to cease. Because it didn’t stop and only got worse, this caused Kinoshita to start placing his hand over his mouth to keep the blood in a tourniquet. (In case you didn’t know a tourniquet is when somebody, mainly doctors, use a belt or some sort restriction to halt and stop the blood from flowing to one area of the body. If you have ever seen a TV show where someone needs to have their arm or leg chopped off they would use this tourniquet to wrap above the infected area and cut off that body part then tie the rest around. In short a tourniquet stops blood flow from going somewhere else). Since Kinoshita is blocking the blood from leaving his mouth he is acting like a human tourniquet. Next it talks about if people will remember him. Well nobody ever remembers him in the show so this fits lol. Will his friends be on the other side of death or forget that he existed. Nartia will be there at least. Once Ukai yells at him that he could die for not telling him sooner it only then dawns on Kinoshita that he could die and is now starting to think that this is the end. The only line that doesn’t work is the line “I want to die”, just believe that it was “I don’t want to die”. Or he hurts so much he wants to die I guess? Finally the last part talks about a suicide and a few of you might be thinking that Kinoshita didn’t kill himself. But in a weird way he technically did. Because Kinoshita Chose to not tell anyone about his injury and Kinoshita kept it to himself, he unintentionally killed himself with his own hand while holding in all that blood, slowly dying out on the cold ground. (Very dark).

 **Daichi’s Mom *Into the west* =** [ **https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsDji3Z7t3s**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsDji3Z7t3s)

Daichi’s mom sings to her son. She sees that he is hurting and wearing so she moves closer for him to lay his head on her lap in a sense. Night has fallen and he is dying signifying he has come to journeys end. Sleep peaceful and think about loved ones and family. While his friends call him and try to wake him up from limbo death. The mother wonders why her son looks sad and why he is weeping and goes over   him. Open your eyes to the new world Daichi, all his fears and hurting will disappear safe in his mother’s arms. Daichi sees the beauty of this heaven and doesn’t wish to leave because he hasn’t seen his mother in years. Eventually Suga on the other side along with everyone else is trying desperately to wake him and their hopes are fading. Eventually Suga says “don’t leave me/ don’t say this is the end for you” but Daichi is already gone as he walks with his mother to their new home: Heaven.

**Ukai… oh boy here we go… I have a lot of good songs for Ukai!!**

**Ukai *Toy soldier* =** [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbuZhVUj_g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qbuZhVUj_g)

The team that was once whole has now crumbled and fallen apart. The students become broken in more ways than one and even torn apart in a few cases, but the battle to survive still rages on inside all their hearts. Ukai then is Eminem rapping and it is pretty self-explanatory. Ukai was supposed to be the one that was never supposed to blow his composure, he was the oldest one left alive and he was supposed to carry these kids to safety (a whole world of problems on his shoulders). He is not supposed to break down, he has to be the one that the kids look up to for guidance. He’d never wanted nor wished for this to happen and if she could have had them stay back and not go through this he would have. He has to be the leader, his students look up to follow him, but slowly throughout the night things went terribly wrong and people started dying (he heard someone say change Hailie to Daichi or someone) name and felt the guilt sink in once more. He’s exhausted and depressed and soon begins to take it upon himself to blame himself for all of this. He feels like he caused their deaths. It was never his object for these students to get killed because why would he want to kill someone he help build up in playing volleyball. His intentions were good, he didn’t do anything wrong yet still those that died haunted him. Kinoshita helped him but died in the end so when his ghost comes back and says “I helped you all night and when I needed you most you turned your back on me and walked away” causes Ukai acknowledge that the kid did save him and that he did leave him to die. (Once the song gets to about 2 min. you can stop if you want)

 **Ukai *Perfect Insanity* =** [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VO96cIxMx0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VO96cIxMx0)

The song revolves around the hell that is Ukai’s mind. He wants to escape up but can’t because he is trapped like an animal, causing him to lose his mind. Very self explanatory.

 **Ukai *Battle Cry*** =[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSpJOeS9rxc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSpJOeS9rxc)

He has been dealing with depression for so long and he has started to get the feeling that no matter what, no one can save him. The fear that has been surrounding him has evolved from calling out his name in his head to full on apparitions trying to get him to kill himself. The poison being his dread leaking through his veins. Nobody can save him now and no matter how many times he sce4ams his battle cry he will not be saved.

 **Ukai talking to Takeda (Ukai x Takeda or could also work for Daisuga but I think Ukai fits better) *Come Wake me up* =** [ **https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLa1LU9NUzI** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLa1LU9NUzI)

 

Ukai’s depression: Ukai drinks to forget Takeda, he thinks about him all the time. The image of his dead body won’t leave him alone, and he reminisces on the thought of talking to him. The memory of Takeda haunts him; he just wants to see him. It drives him mad.

 **Ukai *Whisper* =** [ **https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I5CWyzTBGU**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I5CWyzTBGU)

Honestly one of the most perfect songs for him, along with Toy Soldiers. Ukai is praying that someone will save him from the darkness and dread. Nobody is there and he is going deeper and deeper into madness. He thinks that by willing pain away and saying that it doesn’t bother him that it will go away but it doesn’t and it gets worse. The nightmares, insanity, madness, and guilt is too much for him to bear but every time he turns a corner or tries to sleep the dead members of the team pester him and keep him awake by screaming his name. He is terrified and tormented by the darkness, yet no one hears him, no ones can save him which later results in his death.

Ukai=45 https://youtu.be/Sz4ipOHyMd8 

This song is about a man struggling with the things he's done in his life and eventually he takes a gun and puts it to his head (the song can be interpreted as a man leaving his oast behind or a man killing himself for things he has done. I use it as the second one). He stares down life and everything he is leaving behind. His life is scattered all over in fragments of time and he just cant forgive himself.

https://youtu.be/ftxbSCpxFQg

suggested by @indigoblau is a song that reminds me of Ukai contemplating life.

**All members**

**Maybe Suga, Ennoshita, Tanaka thing going on here? Idk I see this one as all members wanting to work together to overcome this trauma. Like picture every verse as a new set of pairins, Tsukkiyama, Suga trying to be the mother here.** [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9zMSwKIdU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW9zMSwKIdU)

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CalmeXqMYNg>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWr4yjxNKzA>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0qIG-h4rIE>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX3ZSlKdsrM>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiHhTdg8qrc>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIslcAtrWvs>

 

Thanks for reading!! I hope that I get lots of fun reviews!! The longer the better lol!!!!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Ukais salvation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13764951) by [Indigoblau](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indigoblau/pseuds/Indigoblau)




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